Re-established in 2022, Alexandria Community Council are an organisation of residents who work in partnership with West Dunbartonshire Council through planning and development. All community councillors live in the town of Alexandria and have an interest of helping to build a better future through community, trade and infrastructure.
To see an archive of previous meetings, please go to WDC website: Alexandria Community Council 2023 meeting minutes (External Link)
View Meeting Minutes: Alexandria Council Council Meeting Wednesday, 19th April 2023
View Meeting Minutes: Alexandria Council Council Meeting Wednesday, 31st May 2023
Alexandria Community Council is a voluntary organisation set up by statute by the Local Authority and run by local residents to act on behalf of its area. As the most local tier of elected representation, Community Councils play an important role in local democracy.
Community Councils are comprised of people who care about their community and want to make it a better place to live.
As well as representing the community to the local authority, Community Councils facilitate a wide range of activities which promote the well-being of their communities. They bring local people together to help make things happen, and many Community Councils protect and promote the identity of their community. They advise, petition, influence and advocate numerous causes and cases of concern on behalf of local communities. Here are some examples of their work from across the country:
Community Councils are the strongest means of becoming involved with your local area. It will give you a good understand of the workings of local government and what is going on locally and nationally. All local authorities in Scotland encourage citizens to become a member of their Community Council.
There are various ways in which you can play your part in your Community Council. Each community council must have a Chairperson, a Treasurer and a Secretary – the office bearers – and these roles carry the most responsibility. The office bearers, as elected members representing their local communities are responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the community council.
This doesn’t mean to say that the office bearers must do all the work, but they are responsible for making sure that everything is done according to the Scheme of Establishment for Community Councils.
All members of the community council are equally responsible for the community council’s decisions and actions and may take on additional activities in support of the community council.
The office bearers’ roles are described below, followed by an outline of other potential roles within a Community Council.
The chairperson can make a massive difference to the success of a community council. Meetings are key to the Community Council making decisions on what its priorities are and what work it has to do. The chairperson is responsible for ensuring that discussions are productive and run on-time, and that clear action points are set.
The Treasurer is responsible for handling the community council’s finances. It is his or her responsibility to ensure that the finances are kept healthy and the community council does not get into debt. The Treasurer must oversee all financial administration and transactions of the community council, and make decisions regarding these.
The Secretary ensures the smooth running of the community council by organising meetings, setting the agenda and keeping minutes and records.ﾠSecretaries also ensure effective communication between committee members.
Community councils might want to consider if there is a need to create a specific role in response to an area/project that needs a lot of attention. For example, the committee may wish to create the post of Engagement Officer where there is a need to reach out to a specific group that is under-represented in the community council (e.g. young people, ethnic minorities or disabled people). Other roles that might be created to support the work of the community council, depending on its circumstances are:
You don’t have to take on a specific role to be involved in your community council. All members play an important part by thinking creatively about what you can do together to improve the lives of local citizens. If you do take on a role, then you don’t need to feel restricted to only doing this – the main role of the committee is to support each other and work together to make things happen.
For more details about Alexandria Community Council or to get involved with our community council, email us at harrymccormack.alexandriacc@gmail.com