Being the highest authority Amsterdam City Council functions as the major decision making body in the capital city of Netherlands. The council comprises of 45 members who work on a voluntary basis. The members of the council work for about 30 hours every week and receive a nominal allowance for their service. As a result, most of them engage themselves in various other jobs in the remaining time.
Structure and Function:
The members of the Amsterdam City Council belong to various political parties like Green Left, Liberals, Labor Party, Socialist Party, Democrats etc. The members remain in power for 4 years until the next election takes place. Besides taking all the major decisions, the annual budget of Amsterdam is being set by the council.
The Way it Works:
The members of the City Council, Amsterdam gather in the City Hall every Wednesday at 1 pm. General public can also attend these meetings. In case of any disputes, meeting for detailed discussions on certain issues can be held at 7:30 pm on the same day if required. At the beginning, the councilors try to solve the problems and issues faced by the general public. This session is marked as 'question-time'.
City Council of Amsterdam functions in a transparent way. The interaction of the councilors with the citizens of Amsterdam makes the work more effective.
