City Council

The
City Council consists of 45 city councillors who are elected every 4 years. Of this
number, 27 are affiliated with the majority municipal ticket (i.e. the municipal
ticket that won the elections), which is headed by the Mayor. The remaining 18 are
affiliated with the three minority municipal tickets. The leader of each minority
municipal ticket is the city councillor who ran for Mayor.

The
Chairing Committee is elected every two years on the first Sunday in January,
in the first and third year of the Municipal Term.

The
Chairman and Secretary are nominated by the majority and the Vice Chairman by
the minority.

The Chairing
Committee presently consists of:

• Chairman Theodoros
  Bechrakis
• Vice Chairman Panayiotis - Konstandinos Beis
• Secretary Dionysios
  Papadogonas

The
City Council conducts meetings called by the Chairman
at least once a month. It usually meets 2-3 times a month, on Mondays.
In accordance with article 95 of the Municipalities & Communities Code (Law
3463/06), "The Chairman also calls on the
council to attend a meeting via written invitation, which lists the items on
the city council agenda, as requested by the Mayor or the Municipal Committee
or at least one-third (1/3) of the total number of City Councillors or all minority
councillors".

The
City Council Chairman drafts the City Council Agenda, which must include all items
the Mayor has put forward in writing. Items may also be proposed in writing to
the City Council Chairman by:

a) City District Councils, following a proposal drawn up by the Municipal
Committee. The Chairman is obliged to incorporate these items into the City
Council Agenda, in one of their resolutions, for the next three Meetings.

b) The Board of Directors of Municipal Enterprises, relating to decisions which
require City Council approval.

These
decisions must be submitted to City Council within a month of the date on which
Council has been notified of them and, particularly, during the first Meeting.

If
the deadline passes without the issuing of a resolution by City Council, it is
deemed that the decision has been approved in accordance with paragraph 9 of
article 3 of Interior Minister Decision 25027/1984.

Any item not included in the City Council Agenda is treated as urgent and
discussed, only if the Mayor grants approval, prior to all other items on the Agenda
and as long as an absolute majority of City Council members deems it urgent.

The
meetings are open to the public and minutes are kept at each session.
A quorum is present at the meeting when half of all members plus one are in
attendance. An absolute majority of members in attendance is required to pass a
resolution, unless a provision exists which stipulates otherwise.

Each
decision is numbered and at the start of each year these decisions are
renumbered. Three (3) days after the City Council meeting a communiqué is made
public which notes all items that were discussed, the number of resolutions and
a summary of their contents.

Any
individual with a legitimate interest in an item may request certified copies
of specific minutes and resolutions in writing, or be fully informed on these verbally
in the case that copies are not available. All City Council resolutions may be posted
on the City of Athens
website, under the supervision of the City Council Chairman. Resolutions which
are not posted on the website are not deemed invalid. Resolutions passed by
City Council are forwarded to the appropriate services for implementation,
while a number of them are forwarded to the Athens Region for a legal review
(article 149 of Law 3463/06).

The City Council:
a) discusses and decides on all matters that concern the Municipality except for
those which fall within the jurisdiction of the Mayor or the Municipal
Committee.

b) expresses its positions on matters of local interest and informs state
authorities or competent agencies when they seek its opinion.

c)
determines taxes, rates, rights and charges.

d) has decisional or consultative authority on matters concerning: master plans
and environmental protection programmes; the implementation of master plans;
residential planning in open cities; the implementation of the General Urban
Plan (GPS), town-planning studies; redevelopment of specific areas;
town-planning works; the financing of regeneration programmes; the reformation
of downgraded areas; the urban regeneration of problem areas; compensation for
town planning modifications; the contribution of property or land in areas
where special town-planning regulations (PERP) apply; the approval of
town-planning studies and designation of land use; the location of cemeteries
as foreseen by Law 2508/1997 (Government Gazette
124A'); and the location of crematoriums.

e)
establishes its rules of procedure with an absolute majority of members as a whole,
based on the standard regulation of paragraph 8 of article 95.

f) decides only on items deemed extremely urgent and of great need one (1)
month before the holding of elections and until the new municipal authority has
assumed office.  

Additionally,
as a collective body of direct democratic expression, the City Council can take
a position on matters of local and general interest.