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.