Local government

Local government

I was first elected to the Roads Committee of Saint Helier in 1996 and served in local government in that capacity until 2016 when elected Procureur du Bien Public.

A Procureur is now empowered to stand in for the Connétable for certain municipal functions; in effect, we have moved towards a situation whereby the Procureurs act as Deputy Connétables.

The traditional rôle of a Procureur continues: that of being the "attorney of the public good" - to oversee the financial and legal interests of the Parish and to act as the Parish's representative in financial and legal transactions as authorised by the Parish Assembly. The Procureurs also recommend transactions and expenditure for the Assembly's approval. In Saint Helier, by convention, the Procureurs du Bien Public attend (but cannot vote at) meetings of the Roads Committee, making that committee the Parish's de facto municipal council, an equivalent of a town commune or council in counterpart countries.

New legislation will be required to lay out formally that powers of a new municipal body with a clear and understandable system of electing members to that body. By-law making powers should be delegated by the States to Saint Helier, so that locally elected representatives can make the efficient decisions and implement the projects that residents and ratepayers demand.