local government

The Barbuda Council

The Barbuda Council runs the internal affairs of the island on a day-to-day basis in the administration buildings – shown here before Hurricane Irma.

The Council was established in 1976 by the Barbuda Local Government Act, which created a council of 11 members. Nine members are elected by the registered voters of Barbuda, with the Parliamentary Representative (MP) currently Trevor Walker and a Senator, who is nominated by the Council, as ex-officio members. The Councillors serve for four years with elections held every two years in March when four seats and five seats becoming vacant at alternate polls. The Barbuda Council administers and regulates agriculture, forestry, public health, public utilities and roads as exclusive powers, and raises and collects revenue to meet expenses incurred in the performance of its functions.

The Barbuda Council has five committees: Finance. Works and General Purposes; Health, Social Welfare and Disaster; Tourism, Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs; and Agriculture, Land, Forestry, Fisheries, Coastal/Marine Protection.