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Annual Municipal Meeting
Part 4 Division 5 of the Community Charter requires
council to consider the annual municipal report at an annual
meeting. At the annual meeting, council must consider submissions
and questions from the public.
What is required
Each year, after the annual municipal report has been prepared
and released for public inspection, council must consider the report
at a public meeting. The meeting may be part of a regular
council meeting, a special council meeting or another public meeting.
The meeting must occur at least 14 days after the annual
report is released for public inspection but before June 30, and
council must give notice of the date, time and place of the meeting
in accordance with section 94.
What to consider
Councils may wish to consider the following points when planning for the annual meeting.Dedicated Meeting
The annual meeting provides an opportunity for elected officials
and citizens to review the previous year’s objectives and discuss
future goals. The legislation provides that the report may be
considered during any advertised public gathering, including a
regular council meeting. It is up to council to determine the best
option for holding the annual meeting: either as part of a council
meeting or as a separate meeting. Keep in mind that the key
goal is to facilitate public access to the meeting.
Setting
The regular meeting location is appropriate for most council
meetings. However, it may not be the best setting for the public
and council to review the annual municipal report. The primary
purpose of the annual report meeting is to provide a forum to allow
citizens to ask questions on the report and other matters. Council
may choose a less formal setting, such as a community centre,
theatre or a school gymnasium for this meeting.
Presentation
There is no legislative requirement for council to make a public
presentation on the report. However, a presentation from council
may add value to the discussion and help to explain the content of the report.
Follow-up
Council and staff may not be able to answer every question that
is posed at the annual meeting. Questions that require follow-up
should be recorded and answers provided. These can be communicated
to the public through a web site, local newspaper, a municipal
newsletter or at a subsequent meeting.
Some citizens may be reluctant, even in an informal setting, to
ask questions, so councils may want to consider enabling them to
submit questions in writing. This also provides an opportunity for
the council to prepare responses.
How to proceed
Council will need to decide how it wants to proceed with its annual meeting early enough in the year to make the necessary arrangements. Council may want to obtain public input on the format of the meeting. Based on the input, the council should provide adequate advertising to make the public aware of the time and place of the annual meeting. While the Community Charter requires an advertisement once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper distributed at least weekly, council may well consider that more notice in other forms (eg. the municipal website) is appropriate.Please direct questions or comments to
Advisory Services Branch.
