HONG KONG THE URBAN COUNCIL
It now
The Urban Council was reconstituted in April 1973. comprises 24 unofficial members, 12 appointed by the Governor and 12 elected on a restricted franchise. Councillors normally serve a 4-year term and are eligible for re-appointment or re-
election.
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The Council's responsibilities extend only to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon but these areas contain more than 80% of Hong Kong's population. Its main duties are; public sanitation and cleansing; the licensing and hygienic control of all food premises, offensive trades, bathhouses and laundries; and management and control of markets, abattoirs, hawkers, cemeteries, crematoria, and funeral parlours. They also include management of the City Hall, museum, public libraries, government car parks, places of public recreation (bathing beaches, swimming pools, tennis and squash courts, football stadia, games halls, sports grounds, playgrounds and parks); provision and patronage of cultural services and outdoor entertainment for the people in their own neighbourhoods; licensing places of public entertainment; and the Liquor Licensing Board. In all these fields, the Urban Council's policies and decisions are carried out by the Urban
Services Department.
The Council meets formally in public once a month, but most of its work is done in the Standing Committee of the Whole Council, which meets twice a month, or in the 13 Select Committees each of which meets at least once a month. Every Councillor is a
member of at least 4 Select Committees.
The bulk of the Council's revenue is derived from the rates, of which it receives 40% of the total collected by the Government in the urban area; but fees and charges provide other sources
of income.