The Council comprises 45 councillors. One-third are
elected three years in four. Councillors are democratically
accountable to the residents of their ward. The overriding duty of
councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty
to their constituents, including those who did not vote for
them..
All Councillors meet together at a
meeting known as Council. Council meetings are normally open to the
public and at these meetings Councillors appoint the Leader,
determine the policy framework, decide the Council’s overall
policies and set the budget each year, in addition to decisions
relating to other important Council business. The annual meeting
held in May is mainly a ceremonial meeting to elect the Mayor and
Deputy Mayor.
Members of the public are permitted to ask a
question at these meetings, further
information on how to do this can be found
here.