How
the Council operates
The Council is composed of 59
councillors elected every four years.
Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their
ward. The overriding duty of
councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty
to all their constituents.
Councillors have to agree to
follow a code of conduct to ensure high
standards in the way they undertake their duties. The standards committee trains and advises them on
the code of conduct.
All councillors meet together
as the Council. Meetings of the Council
are normally open to the public. Arrangements exist for public
speaking at meetings. Details can be obtained from the Democratic
Services Division (01296) 585807 / 01296 585043. Here councillors
decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget each
year. The Council appoints the cabinet
and holds the cabinet and committees to account It will also hold debates on issues which affect
the district generally.