Cabinet government for York goes under the scrutiny of the city's people from today.

An essential consultation, needed before the changes can be legally adopted, will see a leaflet posted to every home in the city.

It will ask residents if they want the system, which sees an cabinet of City of York Council members make major decisions, retained following a trial period started nearly a year ago.

And they will be given two options which could be favoured above it - a directly elected mayor with an executive or a mayor with a council manager.

The models have been set out by the Government, which has made it essential for every council in the country to adopt one as a replacement for the old committee systems, considered slow and ineffective.

Iain Phillips, the council's assistant chief executive, said, "The scrutiny

and representative role of members would continue under any of the options

and, of course, members would continue to be elected."

The council must tell the Government which option it proposes to implement by the end of June.

The way the three systems will work is explained in the leaflet:

* Directly elected mayor with an executive - A mayor elected by residents would be responsible for running the council. Residents would continue to elect

councillors in the same way as they do now and from these councillors, the

Mayor would then appoint a cabinet of between two and nine members.

* Directly elected mayor with an appointed council manager - A mayor and councillors would be elected by residents as above, but the mayor would delegate responsibility for managing the council's activities to a council manager.

* Executive with a leader - Under the existing system, residents vote in councillors, who form the council and choose a leader. The leader chooses between two and nine councillors to form a cabinet to share the leadership of the authority.

Updated: 08:31 Wednesday, May 02, 2001