Overview of the role
County Councillors represent their divisions and the people who live there, as the bridge between the community and the county council. As well as being an advocate for your local residents and signposting them to the right support, you will need to keep them informed about the issues that affect them.
County Councillors need to build strong relationships and encourage local people to make their views known and engage with you and the council. Good communication and engagement is central to being an effective councillor.
As a local councillor, your residents will expect you to:
- respond to their queries and investigate their concerns (casework)
- communicate council decisions that affect them
- know your patch and be aware of any problems
- know and work with representatives of local organisations, interest groups and businesses
- represent their views at council meetings
- lead local campaigns on their behalf
County Councillors also play a big role strategically. Staffordshire County Council works with local partners and Staffordshire residents to feed into how the council develops its vision and strategies for the future. Our councillors have a crucial role in those conversations and helping local people to have their voice heard.
You might also be asked to serve on one or more committees or working groups, giving you an opportunity to feed into more specialist discussions or vital oversight of how the council and its partners are delivering.
To help you we have put together a councillor's role description which outlines the necessary skills and experience needed for the 'job'.
Community leadership
Community leadership is at the heart of modern local government. Councils work in partnership with local communities and organisations including the public, voluntary and private sectors - to develop a vision for their local area, working collaboratively to improve services and quality of live for citizens. Councillors have a lead role in this process.
Developing council policy
Councils need clear strategies and policies to enable them to achieve their vision for the area, make the best use of resources and deliver services that meet the needs of local communities. As a local councillor you will contribute to the development of these policies and strategies, bringing the views and priorities of your local area to the debate. How you do this will depend on the committees and forums you are appointed to. However, the council's policy framework must be signed off by full council, on which every councillor sits.
Planning and regulation
Councillors may also sit on regulatory committees, for example the planning committee, which takes non-political decisions on planning applications.
