Article 5 - Chairing the Council
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5.01 Role and Function of the
Mayor
The Mayor and in his absence, the
Deputy Mayor will have the following roles and functions:
(a) The Symbol of the
Council and First Citizen. The Mayor
will represent and promote the Council as a whole and its area in
all Civic and Ceremonial matters and act as a focal point for the
community.
(b) The Council
Meeting. The Mayor will preside at
meetings of the Full Council, promoting the efficient despatch of
business and due observation of the requirements of this
Constitution and in particular the Council’s General Procedure
Rules having due regard to the rights of Councillors and the
interests of the public.
5.02
Responsibilities
The Mayor will be elected by the
Council annually. S/he will have no authority to take
Executive decisions, but will have the following principal
responsibilities:
- To uphold and promote the
purposes of the Constitution, and to interpret the Constitution
when necessary;
- To preside over meetings of the
Council so that its business can be carried out efficiently and
with regard to the rights of Councillors and the interests of the
community;
- To ensure that the Council
meeting is a forum for the debate of matters of concern to the
local community and the place at which Members who are not on the
Executive are able to hold the Executive to account.
- To promote public involvement
in the Council’s activities;
- To be the first citizen of the
Borough and the focus of local democracy;
- To attend such civic and
ceremonial functions as the Council and s/he determines
appropriate; and
- To determine, in the absence of
the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairman whether an urgent
decision which is contrary to the policy framework may reasonably
be regarded as urgent in the circumstances. If the Mayor does
not agree, then the matter must be referred to the Full Council for
decision;
NB This
procedure will only be used if it is impracticable to convene a
quorate meeting of the Full Council in the time available before
the decision must be made.
Next - Article 6 - Overview And Scrutiny
Committees And Policy Advisory Groups
This webpage was updated on
9/30/2010