How to present a petition to councillors

In the ePetition application you will see the Current ePetitions screen. It lists all of the published petitions.

Click on the Submit a new ePetition link. You will be prompted to log in. If you already have an account, enter your username and password and click Log in.

If you do not already have an account, click Register as a new user. Complete the registration to create your account.

Once you have logged in, the ePetition Submission screen will be displayed.

In the Title field enter the title of the petition. This should be a short descriptive title not the full petition statement that people will sign.

If the petition relates to an existing plan issue, you can select it from the drop-down list in the Issue field. This will enable the signees of the ePetition to view information about the issue before they sign the ePetition. They can do this by selecting the link to the issue that appears on the ePetition.

If the petition does not relate to an existing plan issue, select (No relevant plan item plan exists), which is the default option.

Checking your petition is unique

Once you have finished with the submissions page, click Continue. To ensure that the petition your are submitting hasn't already been submitted, the system will search through the existing petitions for a possible match.

If no matching titles are found, the Request an ePetition page will be displayed (see Entering a statement and reason for the ePetition below). 

If matching titles are found, the Matching Petitions page will be displayed. 

Click on the listed petition links to view the details and decide if they deal with the same issues as the petition you are submitting. If one of the listed petitions does deal with the same issues, you should click Cancel to abandon your petition. You will then be returned to the Current ePetitions page.

If the listed petitions do not cover the same issues as you petition, click Continue. The Request an ePetition page will be displayed.

Entering a statement and reason for the ePetition

Use the Request an ePetition page to enter the reasons for your petition.

The ePetition title will already be filled in from the submissions page but you can edit it here.

In the * We the undersigned petition the council to field, enter the statement that people are agreeing with or disagreeing with when they sign the ePetition on the website.

In the * More details about your ePetition field, add more details and justification in support of the ePetition. This information will appear on the website. 

You can add the text in paragraphs to make it easier for people to read. Just press return twice at the end of a paragraph to add a blank line.

You can also add web addresses (URL), which will automatically be displayed as links on the website.

The Organisation field is optional. You can enter an organisation name here if you are submitting a petition on their behalf.

When you have finished entering information on this page, click Finish. The Input Confirmation screen will be displayed telling you that your ePetition has been submitted. You will also receive a confirmation email at the address you gave when you created your account.