The City and District Council of St Albans became operative on 1st April 1974, and is an amalgam of the three previous authorities:
• St Albans City Council;
• St Albans Rural District Council (covering eight parishes) and;
• Harpenden Urban District Council (which became a parish in the new District).
The District has a resident population of about 131,000 and covers an area of 63 square miles. St Albans itself has a history of Civic Government dating back nearly 2,000 years, when it was a major Roman “Municipium”.
In 1553 Edward VI granted the town a Charter under which a Mayor and Corporation were appointed.
In 1877 St Albans was granted the title of City and in 1974 a Royal Charter granted a similar honour to the whole of the new District.
Harpenden is the second largest settlement in the District and has its own Town Council. Further information is available at www.harpenden.gov.uk. There are also nine parishes of rural or semi-rural character.
The District is situated within the Metropolitan Green Belt and within easy reach of London. The administration of the area is covered by the City and District Council although certain services e.g. education, social services are maintained by Hertfordshire County Council. Further information on these services are available at: www.hertsdirect.org
The City and District Council is one of Hertfordshire’s ten District Councils. There are 58 Councillors, elected by the community representing 20 wards, and one of them is elected as Mayor each year at the Annual Council Meeting.
The office of the Mayor of St Albans dates back to 1553 and, by tradition, is a non-political role. As the civic head, the Mayor is regarded as the ‘Chief Citizen’ and represents the community as an ambassador within and outside the City and District.
HOW DOES THE COUNCIL WORK
Your council has a Chair of Cabinet and a Cabinet for decision making. The introduction of the Executive System aims to make it clear who is responsible for decisions; it is made up of eight portfolio holders who make the day to day decisions affecting their areas of responsibility.
To check on the actions of the Executive, Overview and Scrutiny Committees have been formed with the power to look closely at the decisions of the cabinet and review the policies of the council.
The full council is made up of all 58 members and has the role of setting the annual budget and overall policy framework for the council. Scrutiny may also refer unresolved call-in issues to full council.
WHO SITS ON ST ALBANS CITY AND DISTRICT COUNCIL
The following parties are represented on the Council,
Conservative: 29 seats
Lib Dem: 23 seats
Labour: 4 seats
Independent and Green: 2 seats
The cabinet - the Council's decision making body - is made up of a group of councillors who meet on a regular basis throughout the year. Each cabinet member is responsible for a portfolio of services. They work closely with council officers and heads of service, to make many decisions that affect services.
Members of Cabinet and their portfolio holders are as follows:
Cllr Julian Daly - Resources
Cllr Mike Wakely - Sports, Leisure and Heritage
Cllr Daniel Chichester-Miles - Environment
Cllr Brian Ellis - Housing
Cllr Teresa Heritage - Planning and Conservation
Cllr Beric Read - Community Engagement and Localism
STATUTORY COMMITTEES
There are a number of committees that are legally required to carry out statutory duties. These are:
planning; licensing and regulatory, standards and appeals (appointed each time an appeal hearing is arranged).