This made it one of the largest employers in Wiltshire, with an annual budget in 2007 of some £300 million. The working capital still employed by the Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust originated in a single grant made by the County Council at the time of the Trust's foundation in 1967, funding which has been described by the Trust's President Lord Lansdowne as "a revolving capital sum". Elections Since 1889, members were elected for a term of office, with elections held all together (initially every three years, later every four years) on the "first past the post" system. Until the 1970s, the elected members chose aldermen, whose term of office was for six years, and who once appointed were also voting members of the council. This form of membership was ended by the Local Government Act 1972, so that after 1974 only honorary (that is, non-voting) aldermen could be appointed. Until 2005, all of the county's electoral divisions elected a single member, but following a boundary review in 2004 three divisions (Salisbury South, Salisbury East, and Trowbridge East) elected two members each. The final size of the council was forty-nine members. The successor authority, Wiltshire Council, was established in 2009 with a total of ninety-eight members. 1889 Wiltshire County Council election 1973 Wiltshire County Council election 1977 Wiltshire County Council election 1981 Wiltshire County Council election 1985 Wiltshire County Council election 1989 Wiltshire County Council election 1993 Wiltshire County Council election 1997 Wiltshire County Council election 2001 Wiltshire County Council election 2005 Wiltshire County Council election Political control At its end in 2009, the council consisted of thirty Conservatives, fourteen Liberal Democrats, three Labour Party members and two Independents. The Conservatives held most of the more rural areas while the Liberal Democrats held several towns, including Trowbridge, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon. The divisions of Westbury Ham & Dilton Marsh and Holt & Paxcroft (both mixed urban and rural areas) elected the two Independents, while the three Labour members held their seats in the city of Salisbury and the towns of Melksham and Devizes. History of political control May 1973 to May 1985: Conservative May 1985 to May 1989: No overall control, Liberal/SDP minority administration with tacit Labour support May 1989 to May 1993: No overall control, informal cross-party administration between the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and Labour Party May 1993 to April 1997: No overall control, minority Liberal Democrat administration April 1997