How We Work

The Mayor is the head and chief executive officer of the municipality. In addition to the Mayor's powers and duties as a member of Council, the Mayor has powers as set out in the Community Charter. These powers and duties include:

• Seeing that the policies and bylaws for the improvement and good government of the municipality are carried out;
• Communicating information to Council and recommending bylaws, resolutions, and measures that, in the Mayor's opinion, may assist the peace, order and good government of the municipality in relation to the powers conferred on Council by any Act;
• Establishing standing committees of Council for matters the Mayor considers would be better regulated and managed by means of committee and appointing members of Council to these committees;
• Inspecting and directing the conduct of officers and employees, directing the management of municipal business and affairs;
• Returning for reconsideration a bylaw, resolution or proceeding of Council;
• Presiding at Council meetings;
• Preserving order at Council meetings and deciding the points of order that may arise; and
• Serving as Chair of the Delta Police Board.

When the Mayor is absent from a meeting or if the Office of the Mayor becomes vacant, Council must appoint one of its members to be Acting Mayor. This person has all the powers of the Mayor with the exception that they do not chair the Police Board, although they do attend the Police Board meetings. 

City Council is the governing body of the City of Delta and the custodian of its powers, duties, and functions, both legislative and administrative. The Community Charter specifies that the purpose of local government, which is defined as being Council, includes:

• Providing good government for its community;
• Providing works, services, facilities, and other things that the municipality considers necessary or desirable for all or part of its community;
• Providing stewardship of the public assets of its community; and
• Fostering the current and future economic, social and environmental well being of its community.

Delta City Council collectively develops policies through adopting bylaws and passing resolutions.

It is important to note that individual members of Council cannot make a decision on behalf of Council or give direction to staff. To do either, they must give a collective direction as a group at a properly convened Council meeting.

Council may not grant special privileges or immunities to individuals or corporations unless the Community Charter specifically allows them to do so. Generally speaking, they cannot lend money to corporations, give away land, guarantee loans for business purposes, or give tax reductions.

The Community Charter requires that Council exercise its powers at regular or special meetings when a quorum is present. The Charter allows each municipality to establish the size of its Council by bylaw. The Charter also stipulates that if a bylaw is not adopted, municipalities having a population greater than 50,000 are to have a Mayor and eight Councillors. Delta has a bylaw that stipulates that Council consists of the Mayor and six Councillors. A quorum consists of four members.

Delta Council sets a Council meeting schedule annually in accordance with the Community Charter. Generally, Regular Council meetings are scheduled twice a month on Mondays and alternate between Council Chamber at Delta City Hall and the Theatre at the North Delta Centre for the Arts.  Members of the public wishing to attend Council meetings may view a copy of the Council Agenda online or obtain a copy from the Office of the City Clerk at City Hall. 

If you are unable to attend Council meetings but are interested in the proceedings, the meetings are broadcast live through video streaming and archived on the website. The meetings are also televised live by Cable 4. Contact Delta Cable at 604-946-1144 for viewing times.

Related information

• Order of Business Protocol
• Question and Answer Period Protocol 
• Committee of the Whole Protocol 
• Consent Agenda Protocol
• Delegation Protocol 
• Electronic Meeting Protocol 
• Council Committee Protocol 

A Public Hearing is a statutory requirement under Sections 464 and 465 of the Local Government Act, whereby a local government must not adopt an official community plan bylaw or a zoning bylaw without holding a Public Hearing on the bylaw for the purpose of allowing the public to make representations before Delta City Council. A Public Hearing is not required for zoning bylaw amendments where an Official Community Plan is in effect for the area that is the subject of the zoning bylaw amendment and the amendment bylaw is consistent with the Official Community Plan.

All persons who believe that their interest in property is affected by a proposed bylaw will be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard or to submit written submissions. Please refer to the Public Hearing Protocol, which provides guidelines for the procedures of and the participation in Public Hearings.

Public Hearings are held at 4:00 pm on Mondays in combination with the second Regular Council meeting of each month. Public notice of the Public Hearing is published in the local newspapers approximately a week prior to the Public Hearing. Members of the public may view a copy of the Public Hearing Agenda online.

If you do not wish to participate in the Public Hearing but are interested in the proceedings, you may watch the meeting online.

All written submissions must be addressed to Mayor and Council, must include the writer's full name and mailing address, and  be received by the Office of the City Clerk no later than 12:00 pm on the date of the Public Hearing. 

To speak virtually at a Public Hearing, you must register with the Office of the City Clerk before 10:00 am on the date of the Public Hearing.

To register, email PublicHearing@delta.ca or call 604-946-3220 and provide: 

1. the Public Hearing meeting date;
2. the project number;
3. whether you will participate by telephone or by videoconference; and
4. your contact information (name, address, phone number, and email).

Once registered, you will be provided the details needed to participate.

You do not need to register to speak in person.

The Question and Answer Period provides members of the public access to Council to obtain information regarding the business of the City. It is held for 15 minutes prior to the start of a Regular Council meeting, typically at 3: 45 pm.

If you have a question regarding an item on a Regular Council Agenda that you would like raised during the Question and Answer Period held prior to the Council meeting, you must submit your question in advance to the City Clerk. Questions to Council must be directly related to a matter on the Regular Council Agenda and requests for Question and Answer Period will be considered by the City Clerk once the Regular Council Agenda is final and available on the City's website.

Submit a Question

1. Submit a question to the Office of the City Clerk by no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the meeting.
2. Email your question to mayor-council@delta.ca and include the following information:
   • Your name, home address, phone number, and email address;
   • Your question and reference to the Agenda item; and
   • Whether you wish to attend the meeting in person, by telephone, or by videoconference.
3. Once registered, an email confirming your registration and instructions on how to participate will be sent.

You may request that the City Clerk read out your question on your behalf.

Due to time constraints, there may be a limit to the number of questions addressed during the Question & Answer Period, and members of the public are requested to limit their time to no more than three minutes.

Questions related to land use bylaws that have received third reading (subject to public hearing or public hearing not held) and have not been adopted are not permitted for legal reasons.

For additional information, please click here for the Question and Answer Period Protocol.

Members of the public may also request to be scheduled as a delegation at a Regular Council meeting. You must make a request in writing to the Mayor and accompany it with background information on the issue you wish to address. The request will be reviewed, and if approved, the Office of the City Clerk will schedule your delegation. Please refer to the Delegation Protocol.

All persons who believe that their interest in property is affected by a proposed bylaw will be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard or to submit written submissions. To make representation regarding a proposed community plan or zoning bylaw, you will be allowed up to five minutes to address Delta City Council regarding the issue under consideration. You must sign a speakers' list prior to speaking. Please review the Public Hearing Protocol.

Public Hearings are held at 4:00 pm on Mondays in conjunction with the second Regular Council meeting of each month.

You may also contact Mayor and Council in writing and by email. All correspondence addressed to Mayor and Council is received and routed to appropriate departments.  All correspondence to Delta City Council must include a name and address in accordance with Council Procedure Bylaw No. 5000, 2000.

Written submissions may be mailed to:
Mayor and Council
City of Delta
4500 Clarence Taylor Crescent
Delta, BC V4K 3E2

Please see Council members' individual pages.