The Council uses a committee system in its decision-making process, where a series of individual committees have responsibility for considering different areas of work or particular issues.

Committees themselves do not make decisions (with one exception), but rather recommend particular coures of action to full meetings of the Council which take place once a month. The Council can then choose to adopt recommendations or to change them, so when you look at minutes of a Committee and the outcome of a discussion, you must also then look at the minutes of the Council meeting to which that Committee's recommendations were reported to see if they were agreed by the full Council.

The Council currently has four 'standing' committees - that is, committes which report directly to it - and they are:

• External Affairs and Planning Committee (the only one to have 'executive powers', i.e. that makes deicsions, not recommendations)
• Policy and Resources Committee
• Council Services Committee
• Development Committee

Each Committee can also have a series of smaller sub-committees and working groups which meet to discuss specific issues and then report back through their Committee to the Council.

The rules governing the arrangement and conduct of meetings, including the election of Mayor and the appointment of Committee Chairmen, are contained in 'Standing Orders' and a copy of the Council's current Standing Orders can be viewed and downloaded at the end of this section.

Can I go to meetings?
The monthly Council meeting and the meeting of the External Affairs and Planning Committee are both open to the public. The other Committees meet in private.

When are the meetings?
Meetings generally take place in the evening at the Council Offices (2 Church Street, Newtownards) and most begin at 7pm. A timetable of the Council and standing Committee meetings for 2010 is available below.

Can I speak at a meeting?
Members of the public can observe a meeting from the Public Gallery, but cannot participate in discussion. Anyone can, however, ask to attend a meeting (including those which are closed to the public) as a deputation, where you can address the meeting for up to 10 minutes, after which the Councillors have the opportunity to ask questions. Any request to make a deputation must be made in writing 10 days in advance of the meeting. You can write to the Chief Executive, Ards Borough Council, 2 Church Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AP, Fax: 028 9181 9628, E: committee.services@ards-council.gov.uk .

If I can't go to a meeting, how do I find out what happended?
The minutes of meetings - that is, a record of what was discussed at meetings and the recommendations and/or decisions made - are available to view and download by clicking on the links to each of the Committees. Minutes of each month's standing Committee meetings are generally published within a week of the Council meeting at which they are considered. The minutes for the current year and at least the previous 3 years are all available on the web site. From May 2009, minutes of a range of Sub-Committees and Working Groups which report to the Standing Committees are also being published.

The Council is committed to being open and transparent in its decision-making processes, so the minutes are reproduced in full, except where certain information, such as personal information, has been removed, in accordance with exemptions which apply under the Freedom of Information Act. Where information has been removed, a note will be included which explains why.

If you can't find what you are looking for in the published minutes or have any queries about the Council's Committee system, you can contact the Committee Administration Section, where staff will be able to help and advise you. Tel: 028 9182 4069, E: committee.services@ards-council.gov.uk