More on municipal government...

The Constitution of the United States of America does not mention local governments. Local governments are created by and regulated by the states. This means that to speak about cities or other forms of local government in the United States is to speak about fifty different legal and political situations. The states outline the powers of municipal governments in charters.

Historically, there are four forms for municipal government in the United States:

• the mayor-council;
• council-manager;
• commission; and
• town meeting.

A recent survey determined that the predominant forms are:

• Council-Manager form of government with 58%
• Mayor-Council form of government with 38%
• Other form of government with 4% (Including the commission and town meeting)

Recent studies indicate that the distinctions between the mayor-council and the council-manager forms are becoming smaller and smaller. City officials continually change the structure of the municipal government. Those cities with a primarily mayor-council form often adopt features to improve management, while council-manager cities adopt features to increase their political responsiveness, and leadership.

More on mayors...

Cities in the United States are sometimes categorized as having either "weak" and "strong" mayors. Most "strong" mayors are in the mayor-council form of government, and are directly elected by citizens to that office. Most "weak" mayors are mayors in a council-manager form, and are elected by and from the council.

The distinction is in the level of political power and administrative authority provided by the city charter to the mayor. In actual practice, there is no sharp line between "weak" and "strong" mayors. Rather there are continua of authority and power, along which cities are spread.

Yet, it is useful to contrast the differences.

Characteristics of a "weak" mayor:

• The council is powerful, with both legislative and executive authority
• The mayor is not truly the chief executive, with limited power and/or no veto power
• The council can prevent the mayor from effectively supervising city administration
• There may be many administrative boards and commissions that operate independently from the city government

Characteristics of a "strong" mayor:

DID YOU KNOW? THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

1. The council-manager government is one of two main variations of representative municipal government in the United States, and was first used in Sumter, South Carolina. This system of government is used in the majority of American cities with populations over 12,000. (for contrast, see mayor-council government). Under the council-manager form of government, the elected governing body (e.g., city council, city commission, board of selectmen, or other body of at least three individuals) is responsible for establishing policy, passing local ordinances, voting appropriations, and developing an overall vision for a city, town, or county. Under such a government, the mayor (or equivalent executive)—performs primarily ceremonial duties and is often drawn from and the presiding officer of the city council or other governing body.

The elected officials then appoint a city manager or administrator to oversee the daily operations of the government and implement the policies established by the governing body. The manager serves the governing body, often with an employment agreement or contract that specifies his or her duties and responsibilities. Ideally, the manager is apolitical.

The council-manager system can be seen to place all power into the hands of the legislative branch. However, a city manager can be seen as a similar role to that of corporate chief executive officer (CEO) in providing professional management to an organization. Council-manager government is much like a publicly-traded corporation. In a corporation, the board of directors appoints a CEO, makes major decisions and wields representative power on behalf of shareholders. In council-manager government, the city council appoints a city manager, makes major decisions, and wields representative power on behalf of the citizens.

2. The mayor-council government system, sometimes called the Mayor-Commission government system, is one of two variations of government used for the most part in modern representative municipal governments in the United States. It is also used in some other countries. The Mayor-Council variant can be broken down into two main variations depending on the relationship between the legislative and executive branches.

DO YOU KNOW THE TWO TYPES OF MAYORS?

Weak-mayor, or ceremonial form

In the weak-mayor form of the mayor-council government, the council possesses both legislative and executive authority. The council may appoint officials and must approve of mayoral nominations. The council also exercises primary control over the municipal budget.

The mayor, though elected, has little real political power and less independence under this form, serves largely ceremonial duties, and may even be a member of the council.

Charles Adrian and Charles Press explain, "The weak-mayor plan is a product of Jacksonian democracy. It comes from the belief that if politicians have few powers and many checks, then they can do relatively little damage."

This form of government is most commonly used in small towns. It is a variant of the city commission government.

Strong-mayor, or executive form

The strong-mayor form of mayor-council government consists of a popularly elected executive branch and a legislative branch, usually a city mayor and city council respectively.[1] In the strong-mayor form the mayor is given almost total administrative authority and a clear, wide range of political independence, with the power to appoint and dismiss department heads without council approval and little public input. In this system, the strong mayor prepares and administers the city budget, although that budget often must be approved by the city council. In some strong-mayor governments, the mayor will appoint a chief administrative officer, or CAO, who will supervise department heads, prepare the budget, and coordinate departments. This CAO, sometimes also called a city manager, is responsible only to the mayor.

Thus far cfemscv.org has created a great deal of spirited conversation. The most frequent objection raised is fear: "WHAT IF WE GET A ( fill in a name ) AS MAYOR!"