The Meeting Procedure Bylaw outlines the processes for how/when Council meetings are to be conducted.
Regular Meetings of Council
All Council meetings, with a few exceptions, are open to viewing by the general public.
- Meetings take place in Council Chambers, at the main Administration Building: 4340 - 47 Avenue;
- Meetings are scheduled the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 9:00 a.m., unless otherwise indicated;
- Meetings are posted on the Events Calendar, and the agenda is available one week prior to meetings.
General Guidelines
The following guidelines are in place to ensure a respectful and democratic process is adhered to.
- Refrain from talking or creating disruptions during presentations and deliberations;
- Presenters and members of the audience must respect the opinions of all parties;
- Comments, clapping, or hassling others is not permitted;
- Applause, or other audible demonstrations of support or opposition is not tolerated;
- The use of recording devices is restricted to recognized media who have clearance from the Communications Coordinator, or to persons designated to take photographs of presenters. Administration will indicate persons designated to take photographs of presenters prior to the meeting.
- As of January 2020, all Regular Council meetings and Strategic Planning Council Committee of the Whole meetings are live streamed and Recorded on Clearwater County's YouTube Channel.
Public Hearings
A Public Hearing is held in order for Council to receive comments from the public. All Public Hearings are advertised in the local newspapers (Mountaineer, Western Star, and/or Sundre RoundUp depending on geographic impact of Bylaw) and on the County website, and all area residents affected the proposal are notified. At a Public Hearing, any person present who believes his/her interest is affected by the proposed bylaw shall be given an opportunity to be heard.
Public Hearing Procedures
When addressing Council at a Public Hearing, always begin your comments by stating your name and address. All comments must be related specifically to the subject of the noted bylaw and must be directed to the Chair. Council may ask questions of you following your comments, however Council will not debate nor enter into dialogue with the Public at the Hearing. The order for presentations will be as follows:- those in support of the proposal;- those opposed to the proposal; and- any other person affected by the proposal who wishes to be heard. After the Public Hearing, Council will resume the Regular Council Meeting where the issues discussed at the Public Hearing will then be discussed, and Council may wish to grant second and third reading of the applicable bylaw.
Strategic Planning Council Committee-of-the-Whole Meetings
Strategic Planning Council Committee-of-the-Whole meetings are held in Council Chambers, at the main Administration Building: 4340 - 47 Avenue, to review, evaluate and make recommendations regarding: setting of priorities; bylaw development; policy development; business planning; financial planning and budget; legal services and agreements; land sale or purchase, and negotiations; personnel matters; or economic development and tourism activities.
- Strategic Planning Council Committee of Whole Meetings are held on the third Monday in January, April, June, September and December (budget deliberation talks) at 9:00 am, unless otherwise indicated;
- Meetings are posted on the Events Calendar, and the agenda is available one week prior to meetings;
- These meetings serve as check-in points with Council and Administration to ensure operating and capital budgets are in alignment with project planning priorities.
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Statement
While all meetings of Council are open to the public, the section 197 (2) of the MGA allows Council and council committees [to] close all or part of their meetings to the public if a matter to be discussed is within one of the exceptions to disclosure in Division 2 of Part 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Under section 198 of the MGA, the public has a right to be present at council and committee meetings that are conducted in public.
PLEASE NOTE: Given the public nature of council and committee meetings, if an individual writes to a Councillor or Clearwater County staff member, he or she should realize that all correspondence, including personal information, may be disclosed at a public council or committee meeting. Clearwater County endeavours to protect sensitive personal information disclosed in correspondence to the County (i.e. personal financial circumstances or personal health information etc.), and in these cases a severed record or summary of the information inquiry or complaint could be prepared for use at the council meeting.