Below is guidance for writing a peak oil or energy preparedness resolution.  Resolutions have two sections: whereas and "it be resolved" statements.  The guide below presents examples of each from existing resolutions.

Whereas Statements

The whereas statements lay out the premises.  The whereas statements can be thought of having two parts, general points and locally focused points.  For the general points, consider using whereas from Energy Man on the Moon project sponsored by the Peak Oil Caucus (founded by Roscoe Bartlett):

Whereas the United States has only 2 percent of the world's oil reserves; Whereas the United States produces 8 percent of the world's oil and consumes 25 percent of the world's oil, of which nearly 60 percent is imported from foreign countries;

Whereas developing countries around the world are increasing their demand for oil consumption at rapid rates; for example, the average consumption increase, by percentage, from 2003 to 2004 for the countries of Belarus, Kuwait, China, and Singapore was 15.9 percent;

Whereas the United States consumed more than 937,000,000 tonnes of oil in 2004, and that figure could rise in 2005 given previous projection trends;

Whereas, as fossil energy resources become depleted, new, highly efficient technologies will be required in order to sustainably tap replenishable resources;

Whereas the Shell Oil scientist M. King Hubbert accurately predicted that United States domestic production would peak in 1970, and a growing number of petroleum experts believe that the peak in the world's oil production (Peak Oil) is likely to occur in the next decade while demand continues to rise;

Whereas North American natural gas production has also peaked; Whereas the United States is now the world's largest importer of both petroleum and natural gas;

Whereas the population of the United States is increasing by nearly 30,000,000 persons every decade;

Whereas the energy density in one barrel of oil is the equivalent of eight people working full time for one year;

Whereas affordable supplies of petroleum and natural gas are critical to national security and energy prosperity; and Whereas the United States has approximately 250 years of coal at current consumption rates, but if that consumption rate is increased by 2 percent per year, coal reserves are reduced to 75 years:  

The San Francisco resolution has additional useful and valuable whereas statement including:

WHEREAS, Price signals of petroleum scarcity are likely to come too late to trigger effective mitigation efforts in the private sector, and governmental intervention at all levels of government will be required to avert social and economic chaos; and,

WHEREAS, The Department of Energy-sponsored study[ii] on mitigation of Peak Oil demonstrated that a twenty-year lead time is required for effective mitigation, while current measures supported by the federal government will replace only three-weeks worth of gasoline consumption by 2012[iii]; and,

WHEREAS, Alternative sources of transport fuels from coal and natural gas both require high energy input and increase total carbon emissions, and biomass-based fuels compete with soil fertility, impacting agricultural sustainability[iv]; and,

WHEREAS, Substitution of petroleum with other fossil fuels threatens even greater damage to water, air, soil, and species diversity through their extraction and combustion; and,

Following the general whereas statements are locally-focused whereas statements that focus on the extent to which the locale is dependent on petroleum and that acknowledges existing activities as appropriate.  San Francisco had several locally focused whereas statements.

WHEREAS, San Francisco is entirely dependent on external supplies of petroleum, including the crude oil processed in Bay Area refineries; and,

WHEREAS, North American production of natural gas has already peaked, and 46% of California's electrical supply is generated from natural gas; and,

WHEREAS, San Francisco has demonstrated leadership in confronting challenges of environmental quality and energy security, promoting environmental and economic equity, and has a rich diversity of citizens committed to maintaining San Francisco's long-term viability;

Portland had a number of locally focused whereas statements:

Whereas, the City of Portland and its citizens and businesses are extremely dependent on oil and natural gas for their economic welfare and their most critical activities, including electricity, transportation and food production; and

Whereas the citizenry of Portland is not currently aware of the full implications of an impending decline and will greatly benefit from an objective source of information on this topic; and

Whereas, the City of Portland has adopted the Local Action Plan On Global Warming the success of which depends upon reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases created by human use of oil and natural gas; and

Whereas the City of Portland has a national reputation for planning and actions aimed at maintaining the City’s social values, equity, and quality of life and can take a leadership role in what may become one of the greatest political economic and societal issues of the next half century,

It Be Resolved Statements

The "It Be Resolved" statements are what needs to done.  What needs ot be done depends on how you are framing the issue.  If you are framing this as an energy preparedness resolution, you may consider using somethimg to the effect.

RESOLVED, That the City Council of [City name] acknowledges the importance of preparing for the continuing escalation of oil and energy prices and supply disruptions; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the City Council supports the undertaking of a study to determine the extent to which the city's capacity to provide services is vulnerable to escalating energy prices and supply disruption, and to recommend mitigations or further study as appropriate.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the City Council supports the undertaking of a study to ascertain the benefits of commiting to annual energy consumption reductions, as well as the development of performance indicators and energy use reduction strategies involving conservation, efficiency, and curtailment. 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the City Council supports the undertaking of a study to identify opportunties for structural changes to the local economy and the built infrastructure that increase energy security and redue energy consumption.

The rest of this guide deals with peak oil resolutions.  The San Francisco resolution had several paragraphs that called for considering peak oil a serious issue, a study, endorsement of Oil Depletion Protocol, and funding.  Asking for funding may not be appropriate for all municipalities.

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco acknowledges the unprecedented challenges of Peak Oil; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors supports the adoption of a global Oil Depletion Protocol to provide transparency in oil markets, control price swings, address issues of equity in access to remaining oil resources, and provide a framework of predictability within which municipal governments can adjust to increasing oil scarcity; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors supports the undertaking of a city-wide assessment study in order to inventory city activities and their corollary resource requirements, evaluating the impact in each area of a decline in petroleum availability and of higher prices, with the aim of developing a comprehensive city plan of action and response to Peak Oil; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors urges the Mayor to provide funding and direction to city departments for the development of a response plan.

Franklin, NY called for a citizen's commision to be formed.

Be it resolved that the Franklin Town Board authorizes the creation of a Citizens' Commission to examine the issues raised by declining energy supplies and rising energy costs, to explore the needs and resources of the Town of Franklin affected by energy costs and supplies, and to report back to the Board and to the citizens of Franklin the results of its discussions and deliberations.

Portland is the most verbose, calling for among other things a task force and strategic municipal plans.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, a Peak Oil Task Force will be created which will include up to fifteen members representing a broad range of community and business interests.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Task Force’s charge will be:
To acquire and study current and credible data and information on the issues of peak oil and natural gas production, and the economic and other societal consequences of this eventuality;

To seek community and business input on the impacts and proposed solutions;

To develop comprehensive 5, 10, and 20 year plans that will include recommendations to the City Council on the strategies that the City and its bureaus can take to mitigate the impacts of declining energy supplies in areas including, but not limited to: water, food security, essential transportation, essential health care, non-grid dependent communications, land use planning, and business and home energy use;

If indicated by the information studies, and deemed appropriate by the Task Force, to develop an emergency plan to provide for the basic life sustaining needs of the citizens of Portland in the event of a sudden and dramatic increase in the price of oil or a sudden reduction of supply, with particular emphasis on economically disadvantaged segments of the population most at risk in such situations;

To propose methods of educating the public about this issue without causing undue alarm.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that since the implications of declining energy resources are also a regional concern, the Task Force will consider the input of regional and state planners on this issue and cooperate with any similar task forces created at the county, regional and state levels. In addition the Task Force will cooperate with other groups charged with developing policy on related issues such as the Portland/Multnomah County Food Policy Council.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that city bureaus will cooperate with the Task Force as it seeks information needed to complete its charge.