PEOPLE in Darlington are being asked to decide how their local authority should function.

Darlington Borough Council is consulting its residents over new political management arrangements.

The authority must have the new model in place by the end of 2002 and it hopes local people will help it come to a decision. There are three options:

l A council leader with a cabinet.

l A directly-elected mayor with a cabinet.

l A directly-elected mayor with a council manager.

Since last May, the council has been operating with a council leader and cabinet structure, which involves decisions being made by ten councillors.

The second option would involve an elected mayor choosing up to nine councillors to serve on a cabinet, who would make decisions about changes to the way services are delivered.

The third option would involve an elected mayor working alongside a council manager to make decisions.

In all cases, key strategic decisions, including the budget and council tax, would be made by the full council. The last two options would result in the council losing its traditional mayor.

Darlington Borough Council leader John Williams said: "We want to hear from as many Darlington people as possible, because this is their council and we want a system which can more accurately respond to their views."

Tony Richmond, leader of the Conservative group, believes that none of the options are democratic. He is in favour of an improved committee system.

"Some issues are of crucial importance to the public, and the people who live in the community need to have a system that enables them to voice their opinion long before a decision is made," he said.

"None of the three options allow for this, and because of that, each one of them is undemocratic."

Residents can cast their vote by returning the reply slip which appears on the right. It is also being published in the latest issue of the Town Crier.

The council is also planning to consult with its partners and employ a market research company to carry out a survey on its behalf.