Board will examine city council

Mark Meredith said he believed the present structure was much fairer

Councillors in Stoke-on-Trent have voted to set up a special board to look at introducing potentially radical changes to the authority's structure.

A government commission reported in May that residents in the city were being "short-changed" because the present set-up was not working.

The board will look at issues like reducing the number of councillors.

It comes ahead of a possible referendum on whether it should continue having an elected mayor.

Members of the board are expected to be appointed over the next few weeks to help assess the best way of coping with any changes.

'Much fairer'

It will also look at reviewing councillors' pay and expenses, making their roles clearer and raising the profile of the city.

City residents are presently being asked whether they would prefer an elected mayor with a cabinet or council leader with cabinet.

The consultation ends on 8 August.

If most residents disagree with having an elected mayor, a referendum could be held as early as October.

The present mayor Mark Meredith has previously said he believed the current directly-elected mayor system is "much fairer".

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