Think tank suggests limiting Mayors' service to two terms

The Today Public Policy Institute has submitted a raft of proposals for reform of local councils, suggesting, among other things, that no one should be able to serve as Mayor for more than two terms.

The think tank called for more financial and human resources to enable the councils to build on their success.

It said councils should be elected for four-year terms (instead of the current three) and the current ‘staggered’ system of local council elections should be replaced by elections for all councils at a set date every four years;

Councillors should be provided with a programme of regular training in public administration and finance.

To ensure greater coordination, the central government support structure should be strengthened in its role of seeing through projects of national importance with impacts across council boundaries.

Regulatory authority in many environmental and cultural heritage areas should be devolved directly to local councils. This included waste collection, cleanliness, litter and dumping, the control of vehicle emissions, the processing of some planning applications and countering planning abuses, land use, local cultural heritage and tourism-related initiatives.

The think tank said ‘Green Wardens’ should be introduced at the local council level;

A new ‘Clean Environment Consortium’ (matching the successful concept employed with the Environmental Landscapes Consortium) should be formed by central government. It should operate through local councils on a regional basis;

Enforcement of the law on littering and cleanliness should be exercised by local councils through a central, government-controlled ‘Environmental Enforcement Agency’ to be formed by government which would include ‘Green Wardens’ within local council areas.

The think tank suggested local councils involvement in national plans to achieve sustainable development.

It said it was not in favour of the introduction of local taxes at this stage of local government development, though this was an area which should be kept under regular review.