Harrogate Borough Council is composed of 54 councillors, with approximately one-third elected in each of three years out of every four. 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 their constituents, including those who did not vote for them.

All councillors meet together as the Council. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public. Here councillors decide the Council's overall policies and set the budget each year.

 

The Council, at its annual meeting in May each year, appoints the Leader and Cabinet (the executive) for the ensuing year. The Leader selects the councillors for his/her Cabinet, nominates them to the Council for formal appointment and allocates their portfolios.

 

The Council also appoints committees for the ensuing year to deal with certain areas of responsibility which are not within the powers of the Cabinet such as planning applications and other regulatory matters and also overview and scrutiny commissions and a standards committee.