A Guide for Councillors

The Role of Councillors in Municipal Finance Management

Introduction

The Constitution requires that municipalities are democratic and accountable and that they encourage community involvement in their actions. The council must ensure that the municipality is fi nancially sustainable and provides services in an equitable manner. It must plan for development and future requirements, provide infrastructure and manage, develop and improve resources that are available to the council. Put simply, council must ensure that expenditure matches revenue at all times. A councillor must be aware of the developmental and service priorities of the municipality and the condition of the fi nances of the municipality so that they can adequately address the needs of the community.

Councillors are required to:

examine options to improve the fi nancial sustainability of the municipality examine the fi nancial and technical viability of projects and initiatives

• • • •

look at ways to fund services, especially free basic services maintain ef fi cient and effective value for money operations.

4

Understanding the Municipal Finance Management Act