Presenting to Town Council

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How Do I Get an Item in Front of Council?

Council provides opportunities for the public to bring forth items requesting a policy decision and/or items of concern as delegations at Council meetings. In order to become a delegation, you must provide a submission form to the Administrative Services Department prior to the deadline noted below. Once Town staff have your submission request, they will be in contact with you on next steps and placing you on the agenda.

Download the submission form here.

Submission forms must be returned to the Administrative Services Department at A-4900 50th Street, Taber, AB, T1G 1T1, or can be emailed by clicking here.

Submissions for Council

The deadline for submission is no less than seven working days prior to the Town Council meeting you wish to attend. Submissions that are received after the deadline will be considered for the next available Council meeting.

Please note that delegation space is first-come-first served. If there are other delegations already booked for Council, you may be offered another Council meeting instead. Typically, the Town only schedules 2 delegations per meeting out of respect for each delegation's time, though this is flexible.

Your submission form should clearly state the issue or request to be addressed in your presentation, along with any solutions or options you are proposing for Council's consideration. If there is a monetary or budget implication to your request, please include that in your submission as well. Please include any materials that you want Council to consider as part of your presentation as well.

Your submission as a delegation should have some form of "ask" for Council to consider. This means that only providing information without a request would not be acceptable for a delegation. Council makes policy and budgetary decisions at their meetings. If you wish to provide only information to Council without a request, please contact our Administrative Services Department for more appropriate avenues in which you can provide your information to Council without presenting as a delegation.

Types of Issues Considered by Council

Items brought to Town Council meetings vary. Council will consider a number of issues brought forward by the public, including (but not limited to):

Presentations of information requiring a policy decision from Council;
Funding requests (click here for information on our Community Grant Program);
Items of community concern requiring a policy decision from Council;
Presentations from outside agencies on programming, projects, proposals, etc.

Please note: sometimes items brought forward by the public may be something Town Administration can address without needing a delegation for Council. If this is the case, our Administrative Staff will be in contact with you upon receiving your submission form so we can address the query.

Placement on the Agenda

Once your delegation has been approved for inclusion as an agenda item your information will be placed in the agenda for the meeting you are scheduled to attend. You can find agendas here.

Delegations at Council meetings always begin at 5:00 PM, unless otherwise decided by Council. You will be notified of your placement on the agenda prior to the meeting.

Our staff will be in contact with you every step of the way so you are prepared for your presentation to Council. Please contact us at any time if you have any questions or concerns.

Preparing for your Presentation

Please download our Presentation Pamphlet or see our frequently asked questions below for more details on how delegations and presentations to Council work. If you still have questions, our staff will be very happy to help you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Presentations to Council

Is there a time limit for delegations?

Can groups attend as a delegation?

Will my presentation be made public?

Will my name and address be public?

All information included on the submission form (including your name, address, telephone number, and email address) will become part of the public record and may appear as part of the Council agenda package unless you expressly request the Town of Taber to remove it. If you have questions or concerns about how the Town of Taber collects your information, please contact our FOIPP Coordinator at 403-223-5500.

Will I appear in the Council video recordings if I present as a delegation?

Can I use audio-visual equipment?

How do I address the Mayor and Councillors?

Are all requests to Council granted?

Council will deliberate on your presentation and make their decision accordingly. However, they may or may not make a decision on the matter at the time of your delegation. The possible decisions Council may make on your decision can include:

Approving your request as presented
Approving your request with changes
Accepting your presentation as information only
Table (postpone) the item until further information is brought forth by Administration or the delegation
Table the item to another meeting of Council
Refer the item to one of Council's boards or committees for further discussion
Decline the request by the delegation

What happens after my presentation is done?

After your presentation to Council concludes, Council may ask you questions or deliberate on the matter. Please stay at the delegation dais until the agenda item is concluded, as Council may ask you questions.

Once Council votes on your agenda item, your delegation has concluded. You are welcome to stay for the rest of the Council meeting as a member of the public or you are also able to leave the meeting if you choose.

No matter the decision rendered by Council, Administrative Staff will send you correspondence outlining Council's decision for your records, and to discuss next steps should the resolution warrant more action.

I just want to give information or updates to Council about my project/group/initiative without asking for a decision. Can I still present to Council?

Council delegations are used to ask for a decision from Council. Therefore, just presenting information without asking for a decision is not considered appropriate. As Council's time is limited, the Town of Taber requests that delegations are used to request a direct decision from Council, whether that be a policy change, a decision on a matter of concern, or funding requests.

If you would like to provide only information to Council, please contact our Administrative Services Manager who would be happy to offer you some avenues to provide your information to our members of Council.