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Part 2
Article 3 - Citizens And The Council
3.1 Citizens' Rights
Citizens have the following rights.
Their rights to information and to participate are explained in
more detail in the Access to Information Standing Orders in Part 4
of this Constitution:
(a) Voting and
Petitions. Citizens on the electoral roll for the area
have the right to vote and sign a petition to request a referendum
for an elected mayor form of Constitution.
(b) Information.
Citizens have the right to:
(i) attend meetings of the Council
and its committees except where confidential or exempt information
is likely to be disclosed, and the meeting is therefore held in
private;
(ii) attend meetings of the
Executive when key decisions are being considered;
(iii) find out from the forward plan
what key decisions will be taken by the Executive and when;
(iv) see reports and background
papers, and any records of decisions made by the Council and the
Executive; and
(v) inspect the Council's accounts
and make their views known to the external auditor
(c)
Participation.
(i) Citizens have the right to
contact their local Councillor about any matters of concern to
them;
(ii) Citizens have the right to
contribute to investigations by overview and scrutiny boards.
(d) Complaints.
Citizens have the right to complain to:
(i) the Council itself under its
complaints scheme;
(ii) the Ombudsman after using the
Council's own complaints scheme;
(iii) the Standards Board for
England about a breach of the Councillor's Code of Conduct.
3.2 Citizens' Responsibilities
Citizens should demonstrate proper respect, in their dealings
with councillors and officers and, when in, on, or using Council
property. In particular, they must not be violent, threatening or
abusive to councillors or officers or wilfully harm Council
property. The Council will act to protect councillors, officers and
Council property if citizens do not observe their
responsibilities.
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