Have your say on how the City Council is run
Worcester City Council is asking for the views of local people and organisations on how it should be run in the future. New legislation requires the Council to change from the current arrangements following the council elections in May 2011.
At present the City Council operates a “Leader and Cabinet” model, whereby an executive of six councillors takes collective responsibility for the main decision-making that affects the council and its services.
The City Council now needs to choose between two alternative options. These are:
- a Leader elected by the City Council
- a mayor directly elected by popular vote
Both would be responsible for all the executive functions of the City Council, and so have more power than the current Leader does at present. They would both appoint a Cabinet, at least two of whose members would be elected councillors.
A new-style Leader would be appointed by the City Council from among its elected councillors for a four-year period, and could be removed by councillors. The civic role of the Mayor would remain the same.
A Mayor would be directly elected by local people for a four year period, and could only be removed before then by public vote. A proposal to adopt this model would also subject to a public referendum.
Worcester City Council wants to find out what local people and organisations think about the two options, and also to hear their views generally on how important this issue is, what they understand about how the council is run and how they think it should be run in future.
What would we like your views on?
We want to find out:
- What you think about the two options of having either a leader or a directly elected mayor
- What your preferred option is
- Why you prefer one option to another
We would also be interested to hear your views on:
- How important this issue is to you
- Your current understanding of how the council is run
- Your views on how the council should be run in the future
The consultation periods runs until 27 August 2010 and then a decision will be taken at a Full Council meeting. Any responses should be made by e-mail to john.scarborough@worcester.gov.uk or by post to John Scarborough at Orchard House, Farrier Street, Worcester, WR1 3BB
