Harrogate Borough Council
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The Council
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.
Council meetings
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 committees and a standards committee.
Council structure
The Council is organised into four departments run by the Chief Executive, who report to the Cabinet and Committees of the Council.