Councillors have a wide variety of important community roles including being: -
- An advocate for individuals and groups within their ward and are aware of the needs of their community. They act as a source of information about council services or a point of access to other agencies.
- A community leader, building relationships with key individuals or groups.
- A policy maker, attending and/or chairing council meetings on issues such as housing, the environment, local roads, social services, schools and planning etc. These meetings can involve decision-making or scrutinising council services.
- A representative for the council - councillors will usually serve on a wide variety of other organisations such as governing bodies of local schools and colleges, other public sector bodies, charitable organisations, multi agency committes or partnerships and representative bodies.
While all councillors are community leaders, they have a wide variety of different roles within the Council. Role descriptions have been developed to help all councillors (including senior salary holders) undertake their roles.