Introduction of Nabari City Council（English Ver. /英語版）

PDF data of "Introduction of Nabari City Council"

 

1．Who are the city council members?

Do you know what kind of people the city council members are?

They work as the citizens' representatives so that you can think of Nabari City as a good place where you want to live forever.

There are currently 18 city council members in Nabari City, who are elected every four years.

Then, what is the reason for choosing those representatives?

It would be best if everyone in Nabari City could get together and discuss a variety of matters, but it is very difficult for about 77,000 Nabari citizens to get together.

So, instead, those 18 city council members listen to various voices from citizens and discuss so that Nabari City can become a better place to live in.

Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson

There is a chairperson as a representative of the City Council.

The chairperson and vice-chairperson are elected one by one from the city council members.

The chairperson, on behalf of the city council, organizes and proceeds with meetings.

When the chairperson is unable to serve his/her office because of illness or other unavoidable circumstances, the vice-chairperson acts for the chairperson in the performance of his/her duties.

2．Work of City Council

City Council is the place where city council members get together and have discussions.

City Council decides the rules applied in Nabari City (called ordinances), how to spend the money that can be used in the city (called budget), checks whether what the city is doing (called municipal administration) is done correctly, and gives opinions to the national or prefectural government to demand what Nabari City wants these governments to do.

3．How City Council works

Plenary sessions

Plenary sessions are the places where all city council members gather.

In plenary sessions, the final decision on what the city will do are made.

When City Council decides whether or not to proceed a job or plan consulted by the mayor, it is necessary for more than half of city council members attending the plenary session to agree with it.

This way of decision making is called a majority vote.

The place where plenary sessions are held is called the chamber.

In the chamber, the seats where the chairperson, city council members, and the mayor sit is set.

Committees

There are so many jobs in the city that are difficult for those 18 city council members to discuss all of them.

Therefore, before deciding by vote at the plenary session, several meetings are divided according to the type of work to investigate the details, ask questions, and discuss.

These meetings are called committees.

All decisions made at committees are reported and finalized at the plenary session.

  

There are three types of committees: Standing Committees, Council Steering Committee, and Special Committees.

Standing Committees are the places where the city's work is divided into three parts and discussed.
● General Affairs and Comprehensive Planning Committee 
examines bills on city planning, finance, public relations, disaster prevention, etc.
● Education and Public Welfare Committee
examines bills on education, school, environment, child-rearing, social welfare, the city hospital, etc.
● Industry and Construction Committee
examines bills on agriculture, road, park, water supply, sewage, etc.  


Council Steering Committee

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Council Steering Committee is a committee that discusses how to proceed with meetings and the schedule of meetings.

Special Committees

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Special Committee are committees set up by decisions by vote at City Council, as needed, to investigate and review specific issues.

In Nabari City, Budget Special Committee and Settlement Special Committee are set up every year to examine the initial budget and settlement of accounts.

In addition, we have set up a special committee for public relations of City Council that edits "Newsletter from Nabari City Council", and a special committee for the reform of the City Council and promote it.

4．Petitions

You can write a document and submit it to City Council when you have a request for city
hall.
A way of submitting a document through a city council member is called a petition.
This document is discussed, and if approved, City Council passes it on to the mayor, and the
city makes efforts to make the city a better place to live in.

5．Observation

At plenary sessions and committees held in City Council, you can see and hear what is being discussed and held at those meetings.

This is called an observation.

In addition, we also hold a concert at the chamber at each regular session, which you can see from the public gallery.

( Concerts at the chamber are currently canceled in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19. )

6．Minutes

It is a record of the meeting.

You can read it in the library or the website of Nabari City Council.

 

7．Live broadcasts on TV and YouTube

You can watch the live broadcast of the plenary sessions on cable TV (203ch) and YouTube.

You can access to our YouTube account from the website of  Nabari City Coucil.

8．Newsletter from Nabari City Council