A petition is a formal written document, signed by many people, which requests action in relation to an issue.
Petition is one of the traditional ways in which community members can make a request directly to Council in relation to a Council issue.
Petitions must adhere to certain standards to ensure that the intended message is conveyed in a clear and succinct manner.
Some of the requirements for submitting a petition to Council are:
•A petition should be addressed to the Council, a Councillor or the CEO;
•A petition must be clearly written, typed or printed, and be signed by at least 5 people;
•Every page of the petition must contain the request of the petitioners/signatories;
•The request suggestion or grievance must be set out using language that is respectful and not offensive;
•Every petitioner/signatory must sign the petition only once, directly onto the petition form;
•Every page of the petition must be a single page of paper. It is not acceptable for signatures to be cut and pasted or otherwise affixed or transferred to the petition;
•The pages of a petition must be free from erasures and alterations.
A petition template is available here, use of this template is not a requirement but petitions submitted to Council should comply with the above requirements and be in a similar format to the template provided.
A petition can be either posted or delivered in person to the Chief Executive Officer at 111 Brown Street, Hamilton. All petitions must be received by no later than 5pm on the Monday before the Ordinary Meeting of Council.
Once the petition is received it will be presented to Council at the next Ordinary Meeting. The Council may resolve that the petition be received and referred to the relevant area of Council for investigation. A Report will then be prepared and presented to a subsequent Ordinary Council Meeting for a formal decisions. However, if the petition relation to an operational matter, Council must refer it to the relevant Director for consideration. Once a decision has been made in relation to the matters raised in the petition, the head/principal petitioner will be advised in writing of the decision.