Elected officials
The College and the Municipal Council
The municipality is the smallest division of the country. It this way, this is the closest authority to the citizens : decisions concerning everyone’s daily life are taken within the municipal. Every six years, the up-to-18-year-old Belgian electors are called to elect the Municipal councillors. The number of municipal councillors is determined according to the number of inhabitants (33 for Woluwe-Saint-Pierre). These councillors form the Municipal Council. The meetings of the Municipal Council are, most of the time, open to the public.
Council regulations (.pdf) (only in French or Dutch)
The Municipal Council elects the Aldermen (8 in our municipality). They are in charge of one or several functions such as: budget and accounts, civil engineering, social matters, register office, culture, youth, worships, education, etc.
The Mayor is appointed by the King, he is chosen among the members of the Municipal Council and he will chair it. The Mayor and Deputy Mayors form the College of Mayor and Deputy Mayors. The Mayor is at the head of the College of Mayor and Deputy Mayors. He is also at the head of the local police.
Responsibilities :
The Mayor is in charge of :
- running the municipality ;
- signing the mail (use of the municipal seal) ;
- having the Council’s regulations and orders published ;
- doing his job as officer for the Register office and the administrative police ;
- summoning the Municipal Council in the name of the College ;
- executing the Municipal Council decisions.
With the Mayor and the Council Secretary, the Deputy Mayors form the College which is the Municipalities government, in charge of :
- having laws, regulations and decisions executed ;
- running the commune and taking all the necessary decisions for its good management ;
- convoking the local Council.
The Council secretary, who is the link between the administration and the municipal political power, is appointed by the Local Council. He is in charge of :
- managing the local staff as well as the different local services;
- countersigning the acts coming from the administration;
- preparing the files submitted to the Council and the College;
- writing the fines and transcribing the proceedings and the decisions.
The Municipal Council is a kind of Parliament deciding and voting the budget. But the Municipal Council also supervises :
- the College decisions ;
- the management of the patrimony ;
- the local taxes ;
- the appointment of the local staff ;
- the police orders ;
- the decisions of the Public Center of Social Aid (CPAS/OCMW).
These meetings are open to the public (as far as the budget, the transactions, etc are concerned) but they can also be closed (for the staff, salaries and other matters).
