In a perfect world, the councillors, chairman and the clerk work as a team whose common aim is to serve the community.

In law, councillors work as a corporate body making decisions for the benefit of the community. The decisions 'it' takes are the responsibility of the council as a whole.

The council is responsible for the services it provides. It establishes policies for action and decides how money will be raised and spent on behalf of the community. It is responsible for spending public money lawfully and achieving the best value for money.

The council represents and serves the whole community and obviously within every community there are different interests. A council's duty is to serve them all. The council has to balance the needs of different elements of the community to get the best result. Frequently, it has the difficult task of deciding what that best result might be and obviously this cannot please everyone.

Individual councillors contribute to the work of the whole council by suggesting ideas, engaging in constructive debate, responding to the needs and views of the community, representing their constituents, behaving in an ethical way, commenting on proposals to ensure the best outcome and then voting to enable the council to make decisions.

The chairman guides all these activities by managing the meetings of the council, assisted by the clerk.

The council as a body decides whether to work in partnership with other organisations and it often serves on other bodies through councillors acting as representatives. An individual councillor, including the chairman, cannot make a decision on behalf of the council. So, when working in partnership, councillors must always remember that they represent the council as a corporate body.

Who are your councillors? (Click here for details of your Parish, Borough & County Councillors)

The Parish Councillors are all volunteers who give their time to help the people of Winterton. Council meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 7.30 pm in the Church Room. All villagers are invited to attend and the first fifteen minutes of the meeting is given to public discussion where you can air your views and opinions.

Parish Councils are elected by local people to represent local interests and provide local services. They are a valuable tool of local democracy - closest to the people and potentially most responsive to local needs. If you have an issue you would like to discuss or raise with the council, please contact any one of the councillors listed above who will do their best to help you at all times.

If you are interested in becoming a councillor yourself and serving your village, watch out for information on the local elections to be held in May 2004.