The local government of Bishop's Stortford is managed by three tiers of councils - Hertfordshire County Council, East Herts District Council and the Town Council. Together, these three councils are responsible for running most of the local services of the town:
Hertfordshire County Council is responsible for running services across the whole of Hertfordshire, including:For electoral purposes, Bishop’s Stortford is divided into five districts, or wards Map . Local elections are held at least once every four years and each ward elects a number of local, district and county councillors. Local councillors can, and often do, serve on more than one council.
Local councillors elected in the most recent elections of May 2007| Central Ward | |
| County Councillor | Duncan Peek (Conservative) |
| District Councillors |
Keith Barnes (Independent) Mione Goldspink (Liberal Democrat) Robert Taylor (Liberal Democrat) |
| Local Councillors |
Keith Barnes (Independent) Calvin Horner (Liberal Democrat) Robert Taylor (Liberal Democrat) Norma Symonds (Conservative) - Town Mayor |
| Meads Ward | |
| County Councillor | John Barfoot (Conservative) |
| District Councillors | Jill Demonti (Conservative) Ralph Gilbert (Conservative) |
| Local Councillors |
Jill Demonti (Conservative) Philip Demonti (Conservative) Ralph Gilbert (Conservative) |
| All Saints Ward | |
| County Councillor | John Barfoot (Conservative) |
| District Councillors |
Any Graham (Liberal Democrat) Mike Wood (Liberal Democrat) Colin Woodward (Conservative) |
| Local Councillors |
John Barfoot (Conservative) Any Graham (Liberal Democrat) Mike Wood (Liberal Democrat) Colin Woodward (Conservative) |
| South Ward | |
| County Councillor | Leanda Newlyn (Conservative) |
| District Councillors | Allen Burlton (Conservative) Diane Hollebon (Conservative) Robert Parker (Conservative) |
| Local Councillors |
Allen Burlton (Conservative) Diane Hollebon (Conservative) Keith Warnell (Conservative) John Wyllie (Conservative) |
| Silverleys Ward | |
| County Councillor | Duncan Peek (Conservative) |
| District Councillors | Graham McAndrew (Conservative) Duncan Peek (Conservative) |
| Local Councillors |
Gary Jones (Independent) Duncan Peek (Conservative) Carolyn Woodman (Liberal Democrat) |
Local councils are funded by a combination of grants from central government, Council Tax and business rates. Central government provides specific and general grants to enable local authorities to deliver all the necessary services. To divide up the funding, the government uses a system that takes into account the number and value of properties in each area, and how much it costs to provide services there.
The Council Tax provides about a quarter of local funding. The local authority (East Herts District Council) sets the total Council Tax it needs to raise, based on its overall budget for the year. Each household pays an amount depending on the value of their home. The government has powers to ensure that increases in local authority budgets and Council Tax are not excessive.
Business rates are a property tax on businesses and other non-domestic properties. Their formal name is national non-domestic rates. The national rates are set by central government. The revenue is collected by local authorities, pooled by central government, and then redistributed to local authorities.