Changes considered to District Council decision-making and
electoral arrangments
Residents will get to have their say on changes to Wyre Forest
District Council's decision-making arrangements. Views on the
frequency of local elections could also be up for discussion.
Wyre Forest District Council's Cabinet will be considering a
recommendation for a three month public consultation on the topics
at its meeting on 15th June.
The proposed consultation is a result of the Local Government
and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. District councils are
required to choose between two options for their Cabinet
(executive) by the end of 2010. One option is to have a
directly-elected executive Mayor – this would have to be approved
by a referendum of local voters. The other choice is the so-called
"strong leader" model where the Leader is elected by Council but
the Leader appoints members of the cabinet and allocates
responsibility for executive functions. Under both options, the
elected Mayor or Leader would be in office for 4 years, starting in
May 2011.
The Cabinet is also being recommended
to ask residents for their views on a possible change to
arrangements for elections. At the moment, the Council is elected
by thirds. This means that there are District Council
elections three years in every four. The consultation paper will
seek comments on whether the Council should decide to move to
elections of the whole council in May 2011 and every four years
after that.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor
John Campion, said,
"I look forward to hearing the views
of Wyre Forest residents on these important issues. It is right
that we should consult local people to understand what they want
before all members of the District Council have to take decisions
later this year.
"There are various arguments for and
against changing the electoral cycle. In present economic
circumstances and with the need to reduce public expenditure, one
issue that we have to consider is the substantial saving that could
be achieved through having district council elections once every
four years.
"However I would stress that no
decisions have been taken yet. I want to encourage local residents
to take part in the consultation over the coming months, and we
will make further announcements shortly about how people can take
part."
The final decision on what changes to make will be taken by a
special meeting of the full Council before the end of 2010.
Date of issue - 4th June 2010
