Here's a description of the four basic forms of government that cities in the United States use. It comes from the National League of Cities : www.nlc.org
Mayor-Council
Characteristics include:
- Separation of powers between directly elected mayor and city council
- Mayor has executive powers while council has legislative powers
- Mayor is directly elected to office, often full-time and paid
Council-manager
Characteristics include:
- City council oversees the general administration, makes policy, sets budget
- Council hires a city manager to carry out day-to-day administrative operations
- Often the mayor is chosen from among the council on a rotating basis
Commission
Characteristics include:
- Voters elect a individual commissioners to a small governing board
- Each commissioner is responsible for one specific aspect, such as fire, police, public works, health, finance
- One commissioner is designated as chairman or mayor, who presides over meetings
- The commission has both a legislative and executive functions
Representative Town Meeting
Characteristics include:
- All citizens can attend and participate in town meeting discussion
- Individuals are chosen by the general electorate to represent them in voting
- Each town meeting must be announced with a warrant that provides the date, time, and location of the meeting and specifies the items to be discussed
- The selectmen are responsible for implementing policy
Of these, what form do you think the city has now? Should we be making some change?
