A mayor–council government is a system of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

in which a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most common forms of

local government in the United States Most U.S. states and territories have at least two tiers of local government: County (United States), counties and municipality, municipalities. Louisiana uses the term List of parishes in Louisiana, parish and Alaska uses the term List of bo ...

, and is the form most frequently adopted in large cities, although the other common form,

council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government commonly used for municipalities and counties in the United States and Ireland, in New Zealand regional councils, and in Canadian municipalities. In the council-manager government, ...

, is the local government form of more municipalities. The form may be categorized into two main variations depending on the relative power of the mayor compared to the council, the ''strong-mayor'' variant and the ''weak-mayor'' variant. In a typical ''strong-mayor'' system, the elected mayor is granted almost total administrative authority with the power to appoint and dismiss department heads, although some city charters or prevailing state law may require council ratification. In such a system, the mayor's administrative staff often prepares the city budget, although that budget must be approved by the council. The mayor may also have veto rights over council votes, with the council able to override such a veto. Conversely, in a ''weak-mayor'' system, the mayor has no formal authority outside the council, serving a largely ceremonial role as council chairperson and is elected by the citizens of the city. The mayor cannot directly appoint or remove officials and lacks veto power over council votes. Most major North American cities use the strong-mayor form of the mayor–council system, whereas middle-sized and small North American cities tend to use the council–manager system. The system is also commonly in place in Asian countries.

References

{{Gov-stub Forms of local government Local government in the United States Local government in Canada

See also

References