I amsterdam - Dualism: what does it involve?

The basis for this system is a change in the division of tasks and duties. This means the Mayor, Aldermen and Council Members have slightly altered job descriptions. Consequently, citizens will be more able to find the right person for the right job. Transparency and openness are crucial in this respect.

The City Council
The City Council now spends more time building a framework and regulating the tasks of the Mayor and Aldermen. For citizens, the most noticeable change is the fact that they will get to see a lot more of the council members in their day to day lives.

Policy-making is the City Council's most important responsibility, creating the groundwork and taking more important decisions. Their meetings have become more of an arena for discussion than before. Hopefully, politics will be more interesting as a result of this.

Board of the Mayor and Aldermen
The Mayor and Aldermen form the executive committee, answering to the City Council and taking over some of the lesser tasks formerly of this Council: for example, licences and staff hirings will no longer be handled by the Council. The biggest change for the Aldermen is that they are no longer members of the Council. They are only welcome in meetings when invited, but their votes are not be counted. Further, they can no longer head the Council Committees. These developments assure that both roles and supervision are as clear-cut as possible.

A half hour is reserved before every Council Committee meeting for the people of Amsterdam. In this half hour, they can ask questions about the subjects on the agenda.

The Mayor
One of the new elements in the Mayor's job is the Annual Report to the Citizens. In this report he evaluates the way in which the city government has reacted and dealt with its citizens. Further, he is also responsible for:

• Creating unison within the policy made by the aldermen and himself.
• Co-operating with neighbouring towns or governments.
• Bringing in subjects in the council meetings.

And, of course, he is responsible for his own portfolio, as are the Aldermen.