Boston Borough Council is made up of 32 councillors. Each councillor is elected to represent an area in the district (called a ward) for a period of four years. Some wards have more than one Councillor to represent them and elections are usually held every four years at the beginning of May.

Councillors come from all walks of life. Some are retired but many others have full time jobs. They are volunteers who represent the interests of local people. The next Borough Council election will take place in 2007. The Borough is divided into 18 wards. Click here for further details of councillors (in wards) or here for more information on Electoral Registration.

Councillors are democratically accountable to electors of their ward. The overriding duty of councillors is to the whole community, which the Borough Council serves, but they have a special duty to their constituents including those who did not vote for them. They represent your interests, set priorities and allocate how money will be spent on your local services.

Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct (Boston Member Code) to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties.

If you would like to know more about becoming a candidate for local government elections, you should call the Electoral Registration office on 01205 314220 or 314221.

Councillors are not paid for their work, but they are entitled to claim for allowances based on recommendations of an Independent Remuneration Panel. The details of these allowances are published annually.

Decision making
The Constitution sets out how we operate, how decisions are made and the procedures, which are followed to ensure the Council is efficient, transparent and accountable to local people.

Councillors make decisions about the services that the Borough Council provides at meetings that are open to the public (except for personal and confidential items).

You can obtain copies of reports, agendas and minutes for Council meetings by contacting the Democratic Services Section on 01205 314226. Please state which committee's report/agenda you are interested in. There may be a small charge for some reports.

Alternatively, you can click on Reports, Agendas and Minutes or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Full Council
There is an annual Council meeting each May and there are usually five or six other full Council meetings held during the year. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public and the business to be discussed is always published in advance in an agenda.

The councillor who is appointed to chair the meetings of the Council is called the Mayor. There is also a Deputy Mayor who can act in the Mayor's absence. The Mayor is the first citizen of the Borough and represents the Council and the people of the Borough at ceremonial and other civic functions. Click here for more information about the Mayor and Civic Regalia.

The Council as a whole (that is to say all 32 elected Councillors) makes decisions on the constitution and determines key policies and the annual budget.

The political composition of the Council is:
Boston Bypass Independents – 18
Conservatives – 6
Better Boston Group – 4
Independents – 3
BNP – 1

The Cabinet (Executive)
The Leader and Cabinet is the part of the Borough Council which is responsible for most day to day decisions, other than those delegated to officers. The Cabinet meets monthly. Key items to be considered by the Cabinet over the next few months are set out in the Forward Plan.

The Leader and the Cabinet have to make decisions, which are in line with the Borough Council's overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision, which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide, although there are some exceptions to this rule.

In this Borough the Council appoints a Leader, a Deputy Leader and seven other councillors to serve on the Cabinet.

The Leader and each of the other Cabinet members have specific areas of responsibility. The list below shows the current membership of the Cabinet.

• LEADER (COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AND TRANSPORT STRATEGY) - Cllr Richard Austin
  DEPUTY LEADER (HOUSING, HEALTH AND LEARNING) - Cllr Brenda Owen
  HUMAN RESOURCES, PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVEMENT SERVICES - Cllr Peter Jordan
  PARKS, AMENITIES AND RURAL COMMUNITIES - Cllr Jim Blaylock
  REGULATORY SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENTAL OPERATIONS - Cllr Gerry Clare
  REGENERATION, PLANNING, SPORT AND CULTURAL SERVICES - Cllr Richard Dungworth
  COMMUNITY COHESION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - Cllr Dave Hobson
  FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE- Cllr Richard Lenton
  COMMUNITY SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PLANNING - Cllr Ray Newell

Scrutiny Committees
The Overview and Scrutiny - Policy and Projects Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny - Performance Review and Governance Committee support the work of the Cabinet and Council as a whole. There is also a separate Audit Panel which reports to the Overview and Scrutiny - Performance Review and Governance Committee.

Regulatory Committees
Local Authorities are not just service providers; they also regulate certain activities. By law regulatory committees are independent from the Cabinet.

Advisory Committees and Working Groups
Advisory Panels and Committees continue to operate in the Borough and include the Joint Consultative Committee, Way Forward Group and International Links Committee. For more details of the Council's Advisory Committees and Working Groups click on the 'Meetings and Agendas' link.

Council Staff
Council employees often known as officers are the people who put Council policies into effect and organise the provision of services. Officers may also make decisions that have been delegated to them by councillors. They are led by the Chief Executive and Management Team, known as the Corporate Management Board, and are supported by the Senior Managers Forum. Council employees also include those on the front-line of providing the services such as park attendants and refuse collectors.

Councils are also required by law to designate: -

A Head of Paid Service (usually the Chief Executive) responsible for the staffing of the authority, ensuring work of the different departments is co-ordinated and making sure the organisation runs efficiently.
A Section 151 Officer (usually the Director of Finance or Resources) responsible for financial administration and probity. This officer has the power to stop the Council from spending money if he/she thinks it is unwise or unlawful.
A Monitoring Officer (often the Council's Solicitor) who is responsible for warning the Councillors about anything the Council does which is likely to lead to legal action or to a finding of maladministration by the Ombudsman.