About Us
Carrickfergus Borough Council's area is made up of Greenisland, Carrickfergus and Whitehead. The borough is 32 square miles, with a population of nearly 40,000.
The Carrickfergus Borough Council area consists of 3 electoral areas: Carrick Castle, Kilroot and Knockagh Monument. In the last elections in 2005 17 representatives for the area were elected from the following political parties: 8 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 4 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 3 Alliance Party and 2 Independents. The Mayor of Carrickfergus is Alderman Patricia McKinney (DUP).
Alan Cardwell came to the post of Town Clerk and Chief Executive in July 1999, having had nearly 30 years’ experience in various Departments of central government and having undertaken several consultancy assignments in Bulgaria for the European Union.
The Chief Executive is the most senior officer in the Council’s management structure which comprises the Chief Executive’s Office and four Departments, each headed by a Director. The Chief Executive has direct responsibility for Corporate Management, Finance, Audit, local elections and Emergency Planning. Directors are responsible for specific areas of business, namely Finance & Personnel, Environmental & Health matters, Buildings & Property and Economic & Leisure Development.
The 17 Members of Council meet monthly to consider reports on the large volume of business done in the regular meetings of Committees and Sub-Committees and to agree the adoption of their recommendations. Council, as a body, is the ultimate authority within the organisation and it elects the Borough’s Mayor, or First Citizen, at the annual meeting in June. The Council normally has a 4-year life but the elections which were due to be held in May 2009 have been postponed until May 2011 in view of the Review of Public Administration (RPA). RPA is a wide-ranging efficiency initiative which will include reducing the number of local authorities in Northern Ireland from the current 26 to 11 - in the case of Carrickfergus Borough Council, this will mean merging with Ballymena and Larne Borough Councils. The interim name for the new ‘Super Council’ covering these areas is ‘Mid and East Antrim District Council’ but this is likely to change in order to reflect public opinion.
The Council provides a wide range of services to the people of the Borough (detailed elsewhere in this website) and it welcomes comments on how delivery might be refined to improve performance in terms of value for money for the ratepayer.
