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POLICY
Intent
This policy applies to all meetings of Town Council as described below. The Town Council
Meetings Policy will repeal and supersede any and all previous policies held by the Town of
Shelburne regarding and/or governing Town Council meetings.
The intent of this policy is to provide a standard set of guidelines concerning meetings of
Council. This policy will provide Council, staff and community members with a reference for
Council meeting procedures, schedules and roles and responsibilities of Council members and
members of the public wishing to participate in meetings of Council.
Scope
All meetings of Council must be held in accordance with the Municipal Government Act; other
sets of rules are outside of the scope of this policy.
The Town Council Meeting Policy applies to all members of Town Council, staff and any
members of the public in attendance or participating in a Town Council meeting and meetings
of Town Council Committees.
Terms and Procedures
Town Council: Council shall consist of five (5) elected members; three (3) Councillors,
a Deputy Mayor and a Mayor.
Organization of Council: Within four weeks after an election, the Council shall meet and
administer the required oaths and appoint one of their number to be Deputy Mayor. The
position of Deputy Mayor shall rotate between the remaining Council members annually at the
first meeting in November.
Council Meeting Packages: The Executive Coordinator shall distribute a Council package
containing all relevant documents for each regular or special meeting; including: an agenda,
minutes, documents corresponding to delegations or Council items, staff reports or other
materials as per the agenda necessary to the meeting. The Council package and agenda will be
distributed prior to the meeting as well as posted to the Town's website for public access on
the Friday before the meeting.
TOWN OF SHELBURNE
Town Council Meetings Policy
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Virtual Meetings:
As an alternative to in-person meetings, Council meetings may be conducted by electronic
means such as telephone conferencing or internet conferencing provided that the following
criteria are met:
1. Notice of the alternative form of meeting is provided to the public at least two (2) days
prior to the meeting;
2. The alternative form of meeting chosen permits all members of Council to effectively
communicate with each other during the meeting;
3. All votes are taken as recorded votes;
4. The meeting may be recorded and the recording may be made available on the Town of
Shelburne website within 24 hours of the end of the meeting.
A member of Council may attend and participate in an in-person meeting of Council by
electronic means provided that one of the following criteria is met and the member is not on
extended vacation or unexcused leave of absence:
(i)
the member has made a request to the Mayor/ Chair based on planned
unavailability;
(ii)
the member of Council is away due to work or family commitments;
(iii)
there is inclement weather and business cannot be postponed; or,
(iv)
the member is not able to attend in person for health reasons but is able to attend
by electronic means.
Any Councillor participating by electronic means is deemed present at the meeting. Otherwise,
shall be marked absent if:
(i)
a technology problem prevents participation;
(ii)
communication is lost and cannot be reconnected.
In-Camera Sessions: In-camera sessions will occur as per Section 22 1) and 2) of the Municipal
Government Act:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, council meetings and meetings of
committees appointed by council are open to the public.
(2) The council or any committee appointed by the council may meet in closed session
to discuss matters relating to:
(a) acquisition, sale, lease and security of municipal property;
(b) setting a minimum price to be accepted by the municipality at a tax sale;
(c) personnel matters;
(d) labour relations;
(e) contract negotiations;
(f) litigation or potential litigation;
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(g) legal advice eligible for solicitor-client privilege;
(h) public security.
No decision shall be made at a private council meeting except a decision concerning procedural
matters or to give direction to staff of, or solicitors for, the municipality.
Regular Council Meetings: Regular Council Meetings will be held on the first and third Monday
of the month, beginning at 6:00 p.m., except when designated otherwise by motion of Council.
Council shall not sit later than 10:00 p.m. unless a motion is made to sit beyond, to a maximum
meeting time of 10:30 p.m. Council meetings will be held in Council Chambers except when
designated by motion of Council to be held in an alternate location or at an alternate time.
Should a regular Council meeting fall on a statutory holiday the meeting will be moved to the
next day, unless modified by motion of Council. Times and dates of regular Council meetings
will be made available to the public on the Town website.
Special Council Meetings: The Town Council shall hold Special Council meetings as may be
necessary or expedient for the transaction of Town business if each Council member is notified
at least three days in advance and the Executive Coordinator gives at least two days public
notice of the meeting. Meetings may be called by motion of Council to discuss items or topics
demanding particular attention or to discuss items requiring time outside the scope of regular
Council meetings. Special Council meetings will follow the same procedures as regular Council
meetings, however, special Council meetings shall generally be limited to 90 minutes.
Other: Members of Council may meet from time to time with travelling government officials,
politicians or leaders of organizations outside of the Regular Council Meeting schedule.
Staff: The Chief Administrative Officer and the Executive Coordinator will be in attendance at
meetings of Council. The CAO will assist and inform Council, the Executive Coordinator will
keep a record of the meeting.
Breaks: Council will break at 8:30 p.m. for fifteen (15) minutes.
Order of Business:
The order of business at a regular or special Council meeting shall generally adhere to
the following organizational structure:
a) The Chair will call the meeting to order;
b) Approval of the meeting Agenda;
c) Additions/Amendments to agenda
d) Approval of the Minutes of the last regular meeting and of any special meeting(s)
held since such meeting;
e) Reading and announcement of Proclamations
f) Consideration of delegations;
g) Consideration of correspondence;
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h) Motions or items brought forward by Council;
i) Committees of Council - Council Reports
j) Other Committees - Council Reports
k) Consideration of reports of staff;
l) New business;
m) Adjournment.
Quorum: As per the Municipal Government Act (Section 20), quorum will be achieved by a
majority of the maximum number of persons that may be elected to the Council. In the case of
quorum not being met within 30 minutes of the appointed meeting time, or if quorum is lost
during a meeting, the meeting will be adjourned to a date agreed on by Council.
Chairperson: Once quorum is met, the Mayor, if in attendance, shall chair the meeting. If the
Mayor is not present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting, the Deputy
Mayor shall take the chair and preside during the meeting or until the arrival of the Mayor. If
neither the Mayor nor Deputy Mayor is in attendance within fifteen minutes of the time appointed
for the meeting, the Chief Administrative Officer shall call the meeting to order and the Councillors
present shall appoint one of the members Chairperson and he/she shall preside during the meeting
or until the arrival of the Mayor or Deputy Mayor.
Minutes: A record of Town Council meetings will be kept by the Executive Coordinator. The
minutes will be held in a book/binder specifically for that purpose and that book/binder shall be
properly indexed and available to the public. The minutes shall contain a record of the date,
location, time, Council members and staff present, and the outcomes and actions taken on all
agenda item and shall be posted to the Town's website for public access.
Recordings: Regular Town Council Meetings and Special Town Council Meetings may be recorded
and uploaded to the Town of Shelburne's Vimeo Channel for public viewing and information. In-
Camera sessions will not be recorded. The approved written Minutes for meetings, presented to
Council by the Executive Coordinator, remain the official record of legislative meetings.
Delegations will be advised that the meetings are recorded should they wish to stand off of camera
during their presentation.
Delegation: Organizations or individuals presenting to, or making a request of, Council in person at
a Town Council meeting. Delegations must submit a completed Delegation Application to the
Executive Coordinator for approval a minimum of one week prior to the Council meeting;
applications are available at the Town Office or online. Approved delegations are allotted up to 15
minutes to present to Council; this includes discussion. With the approval of Council, the discussion
portion may be extended.
Correspondence: Correspondence to Council and/or correspondence requiring the attention of
Council will be placed on agenda in two categories; Action (for correspondence requiring a
response of Council) or Information. Correspondence must have a name and contact information
included anonymous correspondence will not be accepted. In order for a piece of correspondence
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to be added to the agenda for an upcoming council meeting, it must be received no later than
12pm the Wednesday before the meeting.
Council Items: Any member of Council may bring forward items of business or interest for
consideration by Council by providing documentation by noon hour on the day of the meeting.
Motions can be made on these items and referred to the next meeting unless a matter is of
urgency.
Town Council Committee Reports: The Town Council Committee Reports will be presented by one
of the Council members who sit on the Town Council Committee. The complete draft minutes from
each committee meeting will be provided to all of Council in the Council package for their review.
The Council member will present only the highlights of the meetings and motions or items
requiring Council action or direction.
Staff Reports: Reports from staff will be provided to Council in the Council package; the reports
may include recommendations which require motions. The CAO or designated staff person will
answer questions regarding the reports.
Motions of Council: Any member of Council can make a motion. The Chairperson can make a
motion only after he/she has relinquished the chair to another Council member; the Chairperson
will re-take the chair upon completion of the motion. A roll call vote can be requested by any
Council member; the Executive Coordinator will record the names and vote of each Council
member in the minutes.
Conflict of Interest: Any Council member with a conflict of interest related to motions or actions of
Council, as per the Municipal Government Act, subject to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act,
must declare and record this conflict. The Council member will enter their name, the date and the
topic of conflict in a book provided by the Executive Coordinator for such records. The Council
member in conflict will be excused from participation in the meeting during the time which the
topic is under consideration.
New Business: New Business presents an opportunity to raise subjects not previously discussed or
included on the meeting Agenda. Council members can provide Notice(s) of Motion for upcoming
meetings of Council; motions cannot be made under New Business. The Council member making
the Notice of Motion will provide the motion to the Executive Coordinator for submission to
Council in the next Town Council meeting package. Under New Business Council members may
bring forward items of interest to the Council and the public and/or ask questions of the CAO.
Code of Conduct: All Council members, staff and members of the public are encouraged to
maintain professional standards of conduct during all meetings of Town Council. Abusive language,
bullying or improper behaviour shall result in expulsion from the meeting, Council Chambers
and/or the building. Threatening language, violence or destruction of property can result in
intervention by the RCMP.
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Approved By Council at the Council Meeting of: May 16th, 2022
Amended by Council at the Council Meeting of: February 3rd, 2025
_______________________
Jill Webb, Executive Coordinator