How your local council works

Local councils are run by democratically-elected councillors. Councillors are responsible for making decisions on behalf of the local community about local services, such as bin collections, tourism and leisure facilities.

Council decision-making

You can attend most meetings of a council, but usually you will not be able to speak at them.

While the full council (a meeting of all members of the council) is theoretically responsible for all the decisions made, in practice most of the work is delegated to smaller groups of councillors or council officers (paid employees).

Councils have different ways of making decisions. Most have a committee structure, dealing with separate aspects of the council's business.

For more details about your local council, choose from the list at the following link and visit its website.

Local councils in Northern Ireland

Mayors and ceremonial duties

Councils choose a mayor or chairperson of the council and a deputy to undertake civic ceremonial duties.

Getting involved with your local council

As well as being able to attend some council meetings and having access to meeting papers and notes, you can also contact your local councillor about relevant issues.

A councillor is elected by the local community and is there to represent its views, so remember to use your vote at the local elections.

Your council's website will have a list of councillors' names and contact addresses. You might also consider becoming a local councillor or working for your local council. You can contact your local council for more details.