Attending Council and Committees

If you wish to address County Council in writing, you may submit correspondence addressed to County Council that directly relates to County Services or a matter of shared interest to the Northumberland County Community. 

Deliver and address your correspondence to:

Warden and Northumberland County Councillors
c/o: County Clerk
Northumberland County Headquarters
555 Courthouse Road
Cobourg, ON K9A 5J6

You may also fax your letter to 905-372-1746 or email it to the County Clerk.

Written correspondence must include:

• your name and address
• Telephone number or email address
• be signed and dated
• be legible

After receiving correspondence addressed to County Council, the County Clerk will review to ensure compliance with the Council Procedural By-law 44-2024. After review, the correspondence may be included on the relevant Standing Committee or Council agenda if received by 4:30 p.m. six business days before the scheduled meeting date.

Please note that correspondence submitted to the County of Northumberland will form part of the public record and will become a public document as it appears in an agenda package posted on our website when this matter is before Standing Committee / County Council.

There may be occasions when correspondence is not placed on a Standing Committee agenda. This may be due to:

• staff preparing a report in response to your concerns and your correspondence will be placed on the same agenda as the staff report
• your correspondence containing information which is not suitable for a public agenda and will be dealt with on a confidential basis
• your correspondence containing a request for service that can be dealt with by County staff as part of normal County operations
• your correspondence addressing concerns outside of the jurisdiction of Municipal Government

A delegation is an opportunity for a member of the public (or representative(s) of a group) to speak to a Standing Committee on a matter that directly relates to an item on the Standing Committee agenda.

Anyone wishing to speak at a Standing Committee meeting regarding an item on the agenda are encouraged to contact the County Clerk in advance of the scheduled meeting date or submit a delegation request form. 

Delegations will be allowed to address Standing Committees without prior notice as long as the matter directly relates to an item on the Standing Committee agenda.

Delegates are permitted to attend Standing Committee meetings electronically or in person and are limited to a maximum of two speakers which collectively shall not exceed 10 minutes, plus five minutes for question and answer.

Speak to an Item Not Included on the Agenda

Members of the public wishing to make a delegation that does not relate to an agenda item must complete a delegation request form and submit it to the County Clerk. Upon review and approval, the County Clerk will work with you to schedule your delegation at the appropriate Standing Committee meeting. Delegation request forms must be submitted to the County Clerk six business days in advance of a scheduled Standing Committee meeting, including the submission of any delegation material(s), such as a PowerPoint presentation.

Delegations are permitted at Standing Committees only. However, the Council Procedural By-law does allow for presentations at County Council regarding matters such as events or community information. Please contact the Clerk for further details

Delegation Request Form  

A petition is a formal written request presented by members of the public to Northumberland County Council for a particular action to be taken or to voice an opinion on a matter relevant to a County program or service.

Petition Requirements:

Northumberland County’s ‘Petition to County Council Policy’ outlines the County’s procedure / requirements for petitions. The Petition to County Council Policy includes provisions for accepting both electronic and paper-based petitions. Petition organizers are strongly encouraged to use the County’s petition templates below: 

• Electronic petition template 
• Paper-based petition template

Please complete and submit our Proclamation, Lighting and Community Flag Request Form if you wish to request a proclamation to County Council, coloured light display at County Headquarters and/or flag raising on the County’s community flagpole in recognition of a commemorative date. 

Please visit our Commemorative Dates and Observances – Northumberland County page for more information.