First of all, many people wonder about the difference between an elected official and a councillor.
Here’s the difference between an elected official and an advisor, according to Google AI:
—-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-—
In short, an “elected official” is a generic term for a person appointed or elected to a political position, such as mayor, councillor, etc., while a “councillor” is more specifically a member of the municipal council who participates in political decision-making. Elected representatives are those who represent the population on the municipal council and make decisions for the municipality.
ELECTED
Definition:
An “elected official” is a person who has been chosen by vote to hold public office, whether at municipal, regional, provincial or federal level.
Examples:
Mayors, municipal councillors, provincial or federal MPs are all elected officials.
Function:
Elected officials represent the population and make political decisions for the community they represent.
Role on the municipal council:
Elected representatives are members of the municipal council and take part in debates and political decisions.
ADVISOR
Definition:
A “councillor” is specifically a member of the municipal council who is elected to participate in the political decisions of the municipality.
Function:
Councillors represent citizens on the municipal council and take part in debates, votes and decision-making on the municipality’s orientations and priorities.
Role on the municipal council:
Councillors are the main representatives of citizens on the municipal council.
Remuneration:
City councillors receive remuneration for their service on the city council.
—-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-—
Public exposure
As soon as you become a municipal councillor, you expose yourself publicly. If you want to represent your fellow citizens, you have to meet them, work with them, listen to them, and represent them well. The population being what it is, sometimes one person’s happiness is another’s misfortune. Unfortunately, when it comes to making decisions, it’s impossible to please everyone: some will be happy, others unhappy. As an advisor, you’re exposed to congratulations, but also to the frustrations and criticism of those around you. What’s more, you have to live with this on a daily basis, since when you’re walking down the street, people are likely to come up to you and say good or bad things about your decisions.
Few people live well with negative criticism, and that’s understandable. Some would say that you get used to it over time. It hardens you, but it certainly affects everyone, who is, after all, human beings like you and me.
The role of a municipal councillor according to the Québec government :
—-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-—Many councillors’ functions influence decisions that are important to their community.
In addition to attending council meetings and representing the interests of their community, councillors can advise council on specific issues. They may be appointed to commissions or committees, or assigned files that they must pursue in depth in order to support the Council in its decisions.
Councillors are obliged to vote on every proposal debated at Council meetings, unless they are in a conflict of interest situation.
A councillor may also act as deputy mayor. This means that, in the absence of the mayor or during a vacancy in the office of mayor, the councillor appointed by the council performs the duties of mayor.
The political role of an elected official also involves listening to the citizens he or she represents. This means considering their demands, grievances and proposals, and bringing them to the attention of the municipal council.
According to the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, the role of elected officials is as follows:
The primary role of the elected official is to represent the will of the citizens on the municipal council, while acting in the best interests of the municipality. Although responsibilities may vary, certain functions are immutable: sitting on the municipal council, drafting and adopting by-laws and passing the budget. Fortunately, many tools are available to support them in their mandate.
—-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-——-—-—-—
Representing citizens impartially
Our municipal councillors play a very important role as representatives of our citizens. It goes without saying that they must act with integrity, altruism and diplomacy in the course of their duties. And they must remain impartial to avoid any conflict of interest. Our municipality needs good councillors to serve the interests of its citizens.
On that note, I would like to thank all the elected municipal officials who so willingly represent us.
