Delegates speak and act on behalf of the inhabitants of a town or locality and, as such, are chosen for their position by an annual popular election. Delegates represent the inhabitants of their district during diplomatic affairs involving said district, aide the Warden in tasks of upkeep of the public property (roads, crafting stations, etc.), make decisions on the district’s physical growth, assist and consult with the Emerian council on local district projects, and allocate the district’s funds to philanthropic, infrastructural, or emergency projects. Delegates also help to settle disagreements and disputes. For these services, delegates are paid a small, per moon stipend, for the length of their term.
Delegates are NOT responsible for: determining tax amounts, district defense, local military (except in cases of the 8th Omada’s involvement in the construction of public works), or the actions of local lairds or residents. These are the purview of the ruling house and city council, the 8th Omada, the Ard Tigue, and the individuals, respectively.
Elections are held at the final event of each year, and all residents of the district may vote (this excludes non-citizens, as they are considered visitors). A group of delegates is typically 3-4 in number and must have a majority of citizens. One member may be landed, but may not hold land of their own; fili are able to be delegates. Tigues and soldiers may serve as delegates, as the military is not commanded by the delegates, or the landed. However, no two people associated with the same household - vassals or fili - may serve as delegates at the same time.
In general, the assembly of delegates convenes once per moon to discuss formal requests or issues that have been brought to their attention. Depending on the delegates’ preferences, these meetings might be open to the public or not. Although citizens may approach individual delegates with questions or concerns, no delegate is allowed to act without first consulting their fellow delegates. It is not the responsibility of the delegates to solve every local issue, as lairds are expected to contribute to their community, and citizens are expected to work with their liege lairds.
On an OOG note: The position of delegate is important to the forward growth and movement of the district, and thus requires a level of commitment both in and out of the game. Any player that is elected to delegate is expected to do their best on event attendance. For the first event missed, a delegate player must name an interim delegate, someone who will serve on their behalf, and brief them of the current situations. A delegate who misses two events (with the exception of emergency situations) will be replaced upon the second event for the remainder of the term, either by a runner-up to the delegate election or at the discretion of the Warden. This is done to ensure that the delegates in-game have proper support from one another. They may run again in the next election.