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How Municipal Corporations Work
There are 14 Municipal Corporations established under the Municipal Corporations Act 21 of 1990 as amended by Act 8 of 1992 with responsibility for the Local Government functions Each of the 14 Municipal Corporations in Trinidad has an elected Council, comprising Councillors and Aldermen. Councillors are directly elected for three-year terms at Local Government elections, and Aldermen are elected by the Councillors to join the Council for the same term of office.
A Municipal Council is both a local general assembly and a policy-making body for the towns and communities under its jurisdiction. It is empowered to make policies and Bye-laws in relation to its functions for the local area. Such bye-laws, however, must not override subsisting legislation such as the:
Bye-laws, also, must not over-ride the policy prerogative of the Minister of Local Government provided for in the Municipal Corporations Act 21 of 1990 as amended by Act 8 of 1992 (Section 269).
The Council of a Municipal Corporation is like a board of directors of a business company. It makes policy decisions on behalf of the citizens of the City, Borough or Region that it represents. The Council is headed by a Mayor in a city or borough, while the head in a regional corporation is called Chairman. They both have a Deputy Mayor and Vice Chairman. These persons are elected by the Councillors and Aldermen from among themselves to serve for the full term of the Council. Chairmen and Mayors have the same powers and privileges, as do Deputy Mayors and Vice Chairmen.
The business of a Municipal Corporation is conducted on behalf of the citizens of the area. That is done mainly through Committees comprised of the elected councillors and aldermen. The committees receive representations on behalf of the people, pass resolutions, and monitor the administration of services. The services are provided through the various divisions or departments of the Corporation.
There are four Standing Committees in every Council and they are aligned to the functions of the Corporation. They are:
- Finance Planning and Allocation of Resources
- Physical Infrastructure
- Public Health
- Personnel
Each Committee is headed by a Committee Chairman who maintains close contact with officers of the Corporation in supervising the administration of services by the respective departments in the Corporation. Statutory Meetings are held towards the end of each month to ratify the business of the Committees, making their recommendations binding. Statutory meetings are open to the public.
The Council's instructions on its policies and programmes are formally received by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Council meetings. The work of the Council is carried out by the Administrative arm which consists of the CEO; administrative, technical and skilled employees; and labourers. The CEO co-ordinates the work of the various divisions and departments by giving general instructions to heads of departments and providing administrative leadership. S/he is also expected to strategically manage the Corporation’s affairs and to provide advice to the Council. In order to facilitate and co-ordinate the delivery of services, the administration is generally divided into divisions or departments, the most common of which are:
- Finance/ Accounts
- Technical/ Engineering (Engineer/Works Superintendent)
- Public Health
- Personnel and Industrial Relations
- General Administration
Provisions are made for the appointment of sub-committees, and advisory committees of persons who are not members of the Council.
Staff (i.e. Chief Officers, Managers, Clerks and Technical Officers) in the Regional Corporations and the (newest) Borough of Chaguanas is appointed by the Public Service Commission through the Ministry of Local Government. This is a remnant of the old County Council system. Staff or officers in the cities and boroughs is appointed directly by the Statutory Authorities Service Commission. Proposals to reform the Local Government system envisage the regularization of this situation in which both Commissions perform personnel management functions.
Most of the work programmes of the Corporation are carried out by daily-paid employees. They are organized into work gangs, which are rostered and deployed with appropriate tools and gear, and placed under the supervision of Foremen. The planning and scheduling of these works are undertaken by technical and senior professional officers. Some work programmes, however, is contracted out e.g. Garbage collection, road-paving, preparation of recreation grounds, and the construction of pavilions and public markets.
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