How Council works

What we know

To speak at Council, you must get on the agenda as a delegation. Each meeting allows three. The Clerk can change that. Source: Procedural By-law 2025-53, s.20.5 and s.15.6.
Council records a vote by name only when a member asks. Source: same by-law, s.16.17.
Council meets on Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. New business stops at 5:00 p.m. unless Council votes to run late. Source: same by-law, s.4.2 and s.11.1.
Council paused the Township newsletter in April. No issue told readers about the pause. The last went out 26 Jan 2026. The Township's report found readership and reach "have not been measured". Source: Resolution 114/26, 28 Apr 2026; Report R12, p.148; Township newsletters page, read 2 Oct 2026.

Time for you to speak at every Council meeting. Every vote recorded by name. You shouldn't need a spot on the agenda to speak. A vote by name shows how each councillor voted.
Who decides: Council alone.
Council meetings you can get to after work. Start later in the afternoon and run into the evening.
Who decides: Council alone, by changing its meeting rules.
The action list, public. Every item gets a named owner. When that person moves on, the item gets a new owner, out loud.
Who decides: Council alone.
Bring the newsletter back, and count who reads it. You should hear what Council decides without going looking. A count shows if it reaches you.
Who decides: Council, in the budget.
Show what each community pays, and what it gets. That covers Norwood and the rest of the Township, Westwood and Birdsall included. We stay one township, but no one pays for a service they don't use.
Who decides: Council alone. Source: Municipal Act, s.326.