Town Council
The Town Clerk’s office is responsible for statutory
duties sanctioned by the Province; responding to requests under the Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act; managing the Town’s records including Council agendas/minutes and by-laws; acting as secretariat to Council
and its committees, and all follow-up necessary to effect decisions of Council.
The Clerk is the returning officer for
municipal elections and is a signing officer for all legal documents. Documents
may be certified or commissioned, upon receipt of an
appropriate fee, by the Clerk
Clerks Department (905) 584-2272 x.4164
For information regarding the Council
agenda or minutes, or to arrange to delegate Council
Deputy Clerk (905) 584-2272 x.4189
For any other information about Council
proceedings
Structure
Council Meeting Agenda
Delegating Council & Petitions
A Guide to Meeting Proceedings
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Structure
The Town of Caledon, together with the Cities
of Brampton and Mississauga, form the lower-tier municipalities within the
Region of Peel. Situated in the Greater Toronto Area, the Corporation of the
Town of Caledon was created by Provincial statute (Regional Municipality of Peel
Act, 1973) on January 1, 1974. Caledon was established by
the amalgamation of the Townships of Albion (Ward 4) and Caledon (Ward 1), a
portion of the Township of Chinguacousy (Ward 2), and the Villages of Bolton
(Ward 5) and Caledon East (Ward 3).
The Town is divided into 5 Wards, each
represented by a Regional and an Area Councillor, with the exception of Wards
3 and 4 which share one Area and one Regional Councillor. The Councillors are
elected by the constituents in each Ward, whereas the Mayor is elected at
large. The nine Members of Council serve
a four-year term.
Members
hold regular Council meetings in the Town Hall Council Chambers twice a month
except in the months of July and August.
Start times alternate between a 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.; the latter
has an evening session to accommodate those unable to attend during the
day. Prior to the afternoon Council
meeting, if required, council meet in an informal workshop setting to receive
information. This is not a formal
meeting and Council do not make decisions or receive delegations in a
workshop. Councils’
meeting schedule.
The Town’s administration is headed by a Chief
Administrative Officer who oversees nine departments:
Administration (which includes Legislative Services, Customer Service, By-law
& Property Standards, POA), Building, Corporate Services (which includes
Finance, Customer Service, Tax and Information Technology), Economic
Development & Communications, Fire & Emergency Services, Human
Resources, Legal Services, Planning & Development, Public Works &
Engineering, and Recreation & Property Services. These departments provide a number of services including, but not
limited to: municipal elections, commissioning documents and affidavits,
administration of Town Council meetings, day camps and children’s programmes,
youth programmes, community hall, arena and pool operations, fire protection,
roads, library, animal control, development services, building permits,
heritage services, industrial and commercial development, parks and trails,
corporate budget and accounts and information technology.
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Council Meeting Agenda
The Council meeting agenda is the official
guide for Council meetings. Prepared by
the Legislative Services Section, the agenda, which follows a format and
criteria outlined in a Procedure By-law, contains the draft minutes of the
previous meeting, information on delegations to Council, regular business items
(staff reports), announcements, correspondence, proclamations and by-laws. The public is encouraged to attend as all
meetings of Council are open to the public.
During meetings the public may, however, be asked to leave while Council
moves into a “closed session” to discuss matters of a confidential nature as
allowed by the Municipal Act. The agenda also provides for a public
question period. The agenda is
available either in the Legislative Services office or on our website on the
Friday afternoon preceding the Council meeting.
Delegating (Presenting)
Council
Persons desiring to appear before Council
are required to provide written notice to the Clerk. A phone call to the Clerks Department, ext. 4164, can secure a
spot on the agenda. The written
submission must be received seven business days preceding the
meeting. The request to delegate must
include the name, address, telephone number, reasons for the appearance and, if
applicable, the name, address and telephone number of any person, corporation
or organization that is being represented.
The Request to Delegate Council Form may
be completed in lieu of a letter. The delegation may speak for five minutes,
followed by a ten-minute period for Councillors’ questions and comments. Debate
is not allowed, and generally Council direct staff to provide additional
information at a future meeting. Decisions are usually not made until the staff
report is debated at that meeting.
When
delegating Council, individuals are asked to come forward to the podium, state
their name and direct their questions or comments to the Council. The
appropriate way to address Council would be to preface their surname with
“Mayor” or “Councillor” (i.e. MayorMorrison/CouncillorBrown). Delegations
are requested, for the public record, to provide a copy of their speaking notes
and any additional information they present which is not included in the
agenda.
Applause
or other displays of approval/disapproval are inappropriate during Town Council
proceedings and are strongly discouraged.
When addressing Council or answering a question, regardless of where the
question came from, you should always address your comments to the Mayor and
use the microphone. If you have moved
back to a seat in the gallery and you are asked another question, please return
to the microphone to respond.
If you need assistance or advice regarding making a presentation to Council,
contact the Clerk’s Office at (905) 584-2272 ext: 4164.
Petitions & Communications
Every communication/petition presented to the
Council for consideration should be legibly written or printed, must not
contain any obscene or improper matter or language, and must be signed by at
least one person..
Preparing
Petition
The petition must be handwritten, typed,
printed on sheets of paper on legal or letter size. The petition must concern a subject within authority of the Town
of Caledon. A return address for the
person initiating the petition must be included for return correspondence. The petition must contain a request for the
Town of Caledon to take some action or refrain from taking some action or to
remedy a grievance. The statement
should be clear and to the point. The
statement of the petition should appear at the top of each page of the
petition.
Signatures & Addresses
Petitioners must legibly print their name
and address and supply a signature.
Each petitioner must sign his or her own name directly on the petition
and must not sign for anyone else. The
petitioners address must be written directly on the petition (not pasted or
reproduced). Signatures can not be
attached to a sheet (taped or pasted on) or photocopied onto it.
Submitting Your Petition
A petition must be submitted to the Town
Clerk. A letter will be forwarded to
the initiator(s) of the petition following presentation to Council. A copy of the petition and a copy of
Council’s resolution receiving the petition will be forwarded to the
appropriate department for processing and response. If the petition is extremely large, only the first page of the
petition will be included in the agenda and the Town Clerk will identify the
number of signatures for the information of Town Council.
The Procedural By-law governs the
proceedings of Council, the conduct of its members and the calling of
meetings. The Mayor is the official
Chair of Council meetings and, in the absence of the Mayor, the Acting Mayor
would preside. The role of Acting Mayor
is rotated throughout the Council members for a period of one month. A quorum (five members) is required for the
Mayor to call the meeting to order.
Although the business of Council is to be considered in the order set
forth on the agenda, Council may allow for the change in the order or add
business at the time the agenda is approved.
Council “speak” through resolution and by-law. With each item of business a mover and seconder by other council members
is required, and open the floor for debate, following which the Council will
vote. The motion, if approved by the
majority, becomes a resolution which is the official “voice” and becomes public
record. Resolutions, and by-laws are
all official documents and available to the public following a meeting. Meeting minutes are available, when adopted,
at the next meeting of Council and posted on the Towns website.
Summary
The public is encouraged to attend meetings
and become involved in municipal government.
For any information regarding the Council agenda or minutes or to
arrange to delegate Council, please call Legislative Services at (905)
584-2272, ext. 4164. For any other
information on the proceedings of Council please call the Deputy Clerk at ext.
4189.
