Telephone: 210 5277635
E-mail: [email protected]
The Municipal Council, in accordance with Law 3852/2010 (“Kallikratis Program”), as in force, currently consists of 43 Municipal Councilors elected every five (5) years. Of these, 26 belong to the majority faction, headed by the Mayor. The remaining 17 belong to other municipal factions. The head of each Municipal Faction is the Municipal Councilor who was a candidate for Mayor.
See here the Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council.
The Presidium is elected every two and a half (2½) years, following an invitation by the councilor of the successful combination elected with the most votes, or in case of a tie, the one listed first in the court decision. The President is nominated by the majority faction, the Vice President by the principal minority faction, and the Secretary by the remaining minority factions. If none exist, the Secretary is nominated by the majority faction.
The Municipal Council convenes upon invitation of its President at least once per month. According to Article 67 of the Municipal and Community Code (Law 3852/2010), “The President shall also convene the Council by written invitation, which includes the items on the agenda, whenever requested by the Mayor, the Economic Committee, the Quality of Life Committee, at least one third (1/3) of the total number of Council members, or the entirety of the minority councilors.” The invitation is published on the Municipality’s website and delivered or notified to the councilors at least three (3) full days before the meeting date.
The President of the Municipal Council prepares the Agenda, which must include all items proposed by the Mayor or the Municipal Committee. The Municipal Council may decide, following a relevant proposal by the President or the Mayor and without discussion, by the absolute majority of the total number of its members, that a matter not included on the agenda is urgent, and may discuss and decide upon it with the same majority before the discussion of the scheduled agenda items begins.
Meetings are public, and minutes are kept for each session.
The Council has a quorum when at least half plus one of its members are present. Decisions are taken by the absolute majority of those present, unless otherwise provided by law.
Each decision receives a separate number, and at the beginning of each year the numbering restarts. Three (3) days after the Municipal Council meeting, a summary table is published listing the items discussed, the decision numbers, and a summary of their content.
Anyone with a specific legal interest may request certified copies of specific minutes and decisions in writing, or obtain full access in cases where issuing copies is difficult.
Under the responsibility of the President, all Municipal Council decisions may be posted on the Municipality’s website. Failure to publish decisions on the website does not constitute grounds for invalidity. The decisions adopted by the Municipal Council are forwarded to the competent services for implementation, and some are sent to the Legality Auditor for review.
The Municipal Council discusses and decides:
- on all matters concerning the Municipality, except those assigned by law to the Mayor or another municipal body, or delegated by the Municipal Council to one of its Committees.
- expresses its positions on issues of local interest and provides opinions whenever requested by public authorities or competent bodies.
- determines taxes, fees, rights, and contributions following a recommendation by the Economic Committee.
- adopts, by the absolute majority of its total members, its Rules of Procedure based on the model regulation of Article 67.
- one (1) month before elections and until the installation of the new municipal authorities, decides only on matters concerning extraordinary cases of urgent and unforeseeable necessity.
- may delegate certain responsibilities to the Municipal Committee by decision.
President of the Municipal Council – Despoina Limniotaki, daughter of Ioannis
CURRICULUM VITAE
Despoina Limniotaki is a Social Psychologist.
She studied Education and Psychology and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Kent in Social Psychology, at the Centre for the Study of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. She has also been trained in grief counseling and Medical Psychology.
She is co-founder of the Social Cooperative Enterprise “The Healing Tree community for Mental Health,” established to support population groups suffering from mental illness. She works as a Psychologist and Group Counselor on issues related to combating (gender-based) violence, grief management, and post-traumatic stress processing following natural disasters.
She is the author of four (4) books on loss and has contributed chapters to other publications on psychological resilience.
In recent years, she has worked as a trainer in women’s empowerment and leadership programs in the fields of entrepreneurship and political engagement.
Office of the President of the Municipal Council
Telephone: 210 5277614, 210 5277616
- Handles the President’s personal correspondence and maintains its archive.
- Schedules, organizes, and coordinates the President’s meetings.
- Maintains a record of the President’s personal contacts.
- Receives from the municipal services the files containing documents requiring the President’s signature and returns them.