Council AGM to take place on Monday night

A new Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will be elected when it holds its annual general meeting on Monday night.

Also elected will be the chairpersons of the council’s various committees. These include the Environmental Services, Regeneration and Community, Policy and Resources, Planning and Brexit committees.

In addition, 13 members of the 40-strong council are to be elected to the Planning committee for the incoming year.

Under the D-Hondt principal, the post of chair of the Council and for the top positions on the other committees will be be shared equally between the main parties.

A total of fourteen of the councillors are new to the local government body. They will sit alongside the 26 councillors who have been re-elected.

They will oversees the delivery of Council services, including planning, environmental health, registration of births, deaths, civil partnerships, waste management, building control and cemeteries.

It is just under two weeks since the new councillors were elected. Sinn Fein and the DUP have emerged as the largest parties, with Sinn Fein gaining an overall majority with 21 councillors.

The UUP have seven, the DUP has six councillors, there are three from the SDLP, two from Alliance and one independent, Dr Josephine Deehan in Omagh Town.

One of the first items on the agenda will be an address by the outgoing chair of the council, Barry McElduff of Sinn Fein. He has held the post for the past year.

The Council term will run for four years, 2023 – 2027, with Councillors making decisions on behalf of residents aiming to improve the overall social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the Fermanagh and Omagh District.

The annual meetings of both Mid-Ulster District Council and Derry City and Strabane Council, which also cover large areas of Tyrone, are also expected to take place during the coming days.