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
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
, town board, community council, borough council,
rural council, village council, board of aldermen, or
board of selectmen.
Australia
Because of the differences in legislation between the
states, the exact definition of a city council varies. However, it is generally only those
local government areas which have been specifically granted city status (usually on a basis of population) that are entitled to refer to themselves as cities. The official title is "Corporation of the City of ______" or similar.
Some of the urban areas of Australia are governed mostly by a single entity (e.g.
Brisbane and other
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
cities), while others may be controlled by a multitude of much smaller city councils. Also, some significant urban areas can be under the jurisdiction of otherwise rural local governments. Periodic re-alignments of boundaries attempt to rationalize these situations and adjust the deployment of assets and resources.
Belize
There are currently seven
town councils in Belize. Each town council consists of a mayor and a number of councillors, who are directly elected in municipal elections every three years. Town councils in Belize are responsible for a range of functions, including street maintenance and lighting, drainage, refuse collection, public cemeteries, infrastructure, parks and playgrounds.
Canada
Ontario
Township councils in Ontario play a similar role as
city councils in cities for smaller or low tier municipalities. Directly elected every four years, the number of councillors vary depending on the size of their municipalities. The councillors' powers and responsibilities are governed by the ''
Municipal Act'' of Ontario.
Manitoba
Manitoba town council members serve primarily as a policy and direction board for the community. They consist of five to seven members with the head of council being the mayor or
reeve.
China
Municipal councils exist in the
People's Republic of China, these are designated as ''Municipal People's Congress'' in many
sub-provincial cities and
direct-administered municipalities such as the
Shanghai Municipal People's Congress.
France
In spite of enormous differences in populations, each of the communes of the French Republic possesses 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 ...
() and a
municipal council (), which manage the
commune from the ''mairie'' (
city hall), with exactly the same powers no matter the size of the commune and council. The one exception is the city of Paris, where
the city police is in the hands of the central state, not in the hands of the mayor of Paris. This uniformity of status is a clear legacy of the French Revolution, which wanted to do away with the local idiosyncrasies and tremendous differences of status that existed in the kingdom of France.
The size of a commune still matters, however, in two domains: French law determines the size of the municipal council according to the population of the commune; and the size of the population determines which voting process is used for the election of the municipal council.
Germany
Hong Kong
Established as the Sanitary Board in 1883, the Municipal Council in
Hong Kong Island and
Kowloon (including the
New Kowloon) provided municipal services to the covered regions in the then
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...
. Partial elections were allowed in 1887, though merely enabling selected persons to vote for members of the Board. The Board was reconstituted in 1935 and hence renamed as Urban Council in the following year after the government had passed the Urban Council Ordinance. Democratisation had been implemented, allowing universal suffrage to happen throughout its development. Two years after the
Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the council was disbanded in 1999 by the then
Chief Executive of
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. All members of the council were elected through
universal suffrage by the time of the dissolution.
The counterpart of the Municipal Council serving the
New Territories (excluding
New Kowloon) was the
Regional Council established as the Provisional Regional Council in 1986. The functional select committees, district committees, and sub-committees constituted the entire Regional Council. All members were elected from the
constituencies and
district boards.
Both of the Municipal Councils in Hong Kong are now defunct.
India
In India, a Municipal council is the legislative and decision-making body of a municipality. A municipality is the local government for a smaller urban area, known as municipal area.
The entire district under the Municipality is divided into smaller legislative units known as a ward. The people of the ward elect a councillor known as the municipal councillor, and all such councillors together make the Council. The Council is the Legislative and decision-making unit of the Municipality.
The head of the council is called a Chairperson, or President, followed by a Vice-chairperson or a Vice-president. All the meetings are conducted and presided over by the President. The state government appoints a Chief Executive Officer or Secretary of the Municipality who is responsible for the day-to-day administration.
In cities
Municipal Corporation acts as the governing body.
Israel
Israel has three kinds of regional government:
*
Cities;
*
Local councils (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: מועצות מקומיות), for smaller towns;
*
Regional councils (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: מועצות אזוריות), that consist of several settlements (
Kibbutzim,
Moshavim, and Yeshuvim) who each have their own
committee in addition to the Head of Regional Council.
Local councils and cities have a
Kabbat in charge of security and usually do not have fences (commonly referred to in Hebrew as Yellow Gates, שער צהוב) surrounding them, while regional councils have a council security officer and a
Ravshatz (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: רבש"ץ, acronym for רכז ביטחון שוטף צבאי, Military Current Security Coordinator) in every settlement.
Regional councils' capitals usually reside in a local council or a city within them, as the title of "capital village" is deemed highly prestigious and controversial.
Israeli municipal elections are scheduled every five years, and apply to all local governments in the country,
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and
Arab alike.
Japan
Municipal councils are parliamentary bodies established in local authorities in accordance with Article 93 of the
Constitution of Japan and Article 89 of the
Local Autonomy Act, etc. The
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
and
Osaka City Councils are examples.
Jordan
Malaysia
Moldova
The Municipal Council in
Moldova is the governing body in five municipalities:
Chișinău,
Bălți,
Tiraspol and
Bendery (also known as ''Tighina'' or ''Bender''). The Municipal Council (
Moldovan language: ''Consiliul municipal'') serves as a consultative body with some powers of general policy determination.
It is composed of a legally determined number of counsellors (for example 35 in Bălți) elected every four years, representing political parties and independent counsellors. Once elected, counsellors may form fractions inside of the Municipal Council.
Last regional elections of local public administration held in Bălți in June 2007, brought to the power the
Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), which holds 21 mandates, 11 mandates are held by representatives of other parties, and 3 mandates by independents. There are two fractions in the Municipal Council: PCRM fraction (21 counsellors) and "Meleag" fraction (3 independent counsellors and 4 representatives of different parties).
The Mayor of the municipality is elected for four years. In Bălți, Vasile Panciuc (PCRM) is the incumbent from 2001 and was re-elected twice: in 2003 during the anticipated elections (as a result of a new reform of the administrative division in Moldova in 2003), and in 2007. In Chișinău, the last mayor elections had to be repeated three times, because of the low rate of participation. As a result,
Dorin Chirtoacă (Liberal Party), won the last mayor elections in
Chișinău.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the municipal council (Dutch: ''gemeenteraad'') is the elected assembly of the municipality. It consists of between 9 and 45 members (as determined by law) who are elected by the citizens once every four years.
The council's main tasks are setting the city's policies and overseeing the execution of those policies by the municipality's
executive board.
New Zealand
Local councils in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
do vary in structure, but are overseen by the government department
Local Government New Zealand. For many decades until the local government reforms of 1989, a borough with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so little distinction was made between the urban area and the local government area.
New Zealand's local government structural arrangements were significantly reformed by the
Local Government Commission in 1989 when
approximately 700 councils and special purpose bodies were amalgamated to create 87 new local authorities.
As a result, the term "city" began to take on two meanings.
The word "city" came to be used in a less formal sense to describe major urban areas independent of local body boundaries.
Gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first city in the world to see the new millennium. Gisborne is administered by a district council, but its status as a city is not generally disputed.
Under the current law, the minimum population for a new city is 50,000.
Norway
The municipal council (; ) is the highest governing body of the
municipality in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. Municipalities are the only unit of local government in Norway (in addition to the regional "county" level and the national level). The municipal council sets the scope of municipal activity, takes major decisions, and delegates responsibility. The council is led by 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 ...
, or , and is divided into an executive council () and a number of committees, each responsible for a subsection of tasks. It is not uncommon for some members of the council to sit in the
county councils too, but very rare that they also hold national office in the
Storting or
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
without taking a
leave of absence from the municipal council.
The municipal council in Norway dates back the ''
Formannskapsdistrikt'' law that went into effect on 1 January 1838. Historically, the council was known as a or in rural municipalities and in urban/city municipalities. During the 1960s, the distinction between rural and urban municipalities was eliminated, however, many Norwegian cities still refer to their municipal council as a city council (''bystyre'').
Palestine
The
Palestinian National Authority established
village councils to serve as local administrations and service providers for Palestinian villages and small towns. Village councils are also referred to as D-level municipalities.
Philippines
In the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, all municipalities have their own municipal council, and these are officially called: "
Sangguniang Bayan".
Cities have a similar but separate form of legislature called "
Sangguniang Panlungsod" (literally "city council"). The Local Government Code of 1991 established the current local government structure, including municipal councils.
City councils range from 12, in most cities, to 38 members, such as the
Manila City Council. Members of city councils are called "councilors".
Republic of Ireland
The
Local Government Act 2001 restyled the five county boroughs of
Dublin,
Cork,
Galway,
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, and
Limerick as cities, each with a city council, having the same status in law as county councils.
The
Local Government Reform Act 2014 amalgamated
Limerick City Council and
Limerick County Council to form
Limerick City and County Council, and
Waterford City Council and
Waterford County Council to form
Waterford City and County Council.
Singapore
In Singapore, town councils are in charge of maintaining the common areas of
Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and estates, such as the common corridors,
void decks, lifts, water tanks, external lighting and the open spaces surrounding the estates. They are regulated under the .
The rationale was to delegate the duties of estate management to the
members of parliament in addition to their existing responsibilities. They would also gain management experience and be accountable to their district's resident voters.
Town councils boundaries are drawn based on
electoral districts boundaries. A town council area can consist of a
Group Representation Constituency (GRC), a Single Member Constituency (SMC), or a collection of neighbouring GRCs and SMCs controlled by the same political party. The Members of
Parliament head the town councils of their constituencies. Town councils boundaries do not correspond to
new town boundaries; different parts of the same HDB town may be managed by different town councils.
Taiwan
In the
Republic of China, a municipal council represents a
special municipality or a
provincial city. Members of the councils are elected through municipal
elections held every four–five years.
Councils for the
special municipalities in Taiwan are
Taipei City Council,
New Taipei City Council,
Taichung City Council,
Tainan City Council,
Kaohsiung City Council and
Taoyuan City Council.
Councils for the
provincial cities in Taiwan are
Chiayi City Council,
Hsinchu City Council, and
Keelung City Council.
Ukraine
In
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, almost all cities have their City Councils, and the mayors (usually elected by people) are the chairmen of them (e.g.:
Kyiv City Council,
Kharkiv City Council,
Odesa City Council,
Lviv City Council,
Chernihiv City Council).
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, not all cities have city councils, and the status and functions of city councils vary.
In
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, since the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, "town council" is the specific name given to a
civil parish council which has declared itself by resolution to be a town council. If another type of local council, such as a
district authority, covers a single town (such as
Luton or
Stevenage) then the council is often a 'borough council': borough status is however conferred at the discretion of
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. There is also the London assembly which is City council by default
Civil parishes are the most local level in the local government system. The higher levels are
district,
unitary and
county. However town councils are not subordinate in democratic accountability to those higher levels, but to the electorate of their civil parish area.
The chairman of a town council is entitled to be styled as "town mayor". This term contrasts with simply "mayor", which means the mayor of a
borough or a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
. However, this is often abbreviated simply to mayor, especially where the town was historically a borough or city, such as
Lewes or
Ely. In
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, the term '
provost' is commonly used to designate the leader of the town council.
Historically the term 'town council' was used for the governing body of a
municipal borough until the
1972 Act.
England
A city council may be:
* The council of a
metropolitan district that has been granted
city status such as
Liverpool City Council.
* The council of a
non-metropolitan district that has been granted city status such as
Winchester City Council. Some of these councils are
unitary authorities and some share functions with
county councils such as
Portsmouth City Council.
* A
parish council that has been granted city status such as
Salisbury City Council. These councils have limited functions. The city of
Durham has a parish council, but it is known as the City of Durham Parish Council, not the city council.
* The council of a
London borough that has been granted city status (of which there is only one example:
Westminster City Council), or the
City of London Corporation.
Northern Ireland
Belfast City Council is now the only city council. Since the
local government reforms of 2015 the other four cities form parts of wider
districts and do not have their own councils.
Scotland
A city council is the council of one of four
council areas designated a City by the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 such as
Glasgow City Council.
The three cities which are not council areas have no city council.
Wales
In
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, where the lowest tier of local government is known as a
community, the Community Council may unilaterally declare itself to be a Town Council, but this has the same status as a Community Council.
A city council may be:
* One of the three councils of
principal areas that have been granted
city status such as
Newport City Council.
* One of the three
community councils, with limited functions, that have been granted city status such as
Bangor City Council.
United States

City councils and town boards generally consist of several (usually somewhere between 5 and 51) elected
aldermen or
councillors. In the United States, members of city councils are typically called council member, council man, council woman, councilman, or councilwoman, while in Canada they are typically called councillor.
In some cities, the
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 ...
is a voting member of the council who serves as
chairman; in others, the mayor is the city's independent
chief executive (or
strong mayor) with
veto power over city council
legislation. In larger cities the council may elect other executive positions as well, such as a council
president and
speaker.
The council generally functions as a
parliamentary or
presidential style legislative body, proposing bills, holding votes, and passing laws to help govern the city.
The role of the mayor in the council varies depending on whether or not the city uses
council–manager government or
mayor–council government, and by the nature of the statutory authority given to it by state law, city charter, or municipal ordinance.
There is also a
mayor pro tem councilmember. In cities where the council elects the mayor for one year at a time, the mayor pro tem is in line to become the mayor in the next year. In cities where the mayor is elected by the city's voters, the mayor pro tem serves as
acting mayor in the absence of the mayor. This position is also known as
vice mayor.
In some cities a different name for the municipal legislature is used. In
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, for example, it is known as the City Commission. In
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, it is known as the
Board of Supervisors; San Francisco is a
consolidated city-county
In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...
and the
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
constitution requires each county to have a
Board of Supervisors.
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
constitution allows local home rule to define any type of government via a Charter Commission including a type with no Mayor (city manager) or potentially citizen's could vote to institute a
pure democracy with no council
Indiana
Indiana town council members serve as both the executive and legislative branches for small communities incorporated as towns within the state. They consist of three or five members, depending upon the town's population.
Unlike some states, Indiana council members must declare a political party affiliation, if any, when they file to run for office. Upon election in November, they are sworn in before 1 January of the following year, where they serve a four-year term. There are no state term limits affecting how many times a candidate may run for re-election to office.
The first meeting after an election, members of the town council hold an organising meeting, where they elect a president to set future agendas and act as an official spokesman for the town or as liaison between the town and state and county government.
Indiana town councils work in conjunction with an elected
town clerk, who manages the day-to-day business of the municipal government. As an elected official, the town clerk is solely executive in function and operates independently of the town council. But the council has final say on budgets which clerks depend upon to operate.
In addition to a clerk, the council can authorise the hiring of other staff to run the operations of government, including law enforcement officers,
utility workers, park and recreation employees and
town managers. These employees serve at the pleasure of the council.
Massachusetts
Town councils in
Massachusetts are essentially
city councils in towns which have adopted a city form of government but prefer to retain the "town of" in their names. In several communities which have adopted such a government, the official name of the community is "The City known as the Town of..." The legislative body of a legal town in Massachusetts is a
town meeting; the executive board is a
board of selectmen. In addition to having the structure of a city with a mayor and council, cities in Massachusetts can enact ordinances, while towns may adopt by-laws, which are subject to the approval of the
Attorney General. City ordinances are presumed to be legal unless challenged and set aside in court.
Michigan
In
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, there are
257 incorporated villages that are governed by village councils, which is a form of
weak–mayor administration. Michigan does not use "town" as a defined municipality, and villages are the lowest-level form of incorporated municipality. Villages are distinct from cities in that they share certain duties with their surrounding township and are not completely autonomous. Guidelines for village governments are defined in the General Law Village Act (Act 3) of 1895. Village councils consist of elected officials, including a village president, trustees, clerk, and treasurer.
New Hampshire
In
New Hampshire, the Town Council is an elected body which serves as the
legislative and executive body of the town. The town is governed by a
charter, which is allowed under the
home rule provision of the
New Hampshire Constitution (Pt I, Art. 39) and Title III of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated. The charter for a Town Council must meet the following requirements o
RSA 49-D:3 I. (a) – (e)and all other applicable laws. The basic notion of home rule in New Hampshire is that local communities are not allowed to supersede the authority specifically granted to them by the state.
Official Ballot Town Council
The Official Ballot Town Council is a variant form of the Town Council. In the Official Ballot form of government, the town council is vested with the limited authority to vote on all matters not voted on by official ballot. The authority and restrictions on the Official Ballot town council is the same as the Town Council, except with respect to those matters specified to be voted on by official ballot. Also, the council decides what is placed on the ballot, not the registered voters.
The charter of the Official Ballot Town Council is required by law to specify specifically:
* Which budgetary items to be included on the official ballot; and
* A finalisation process for the annual budget; and
* Process for public hearings, debate, discussion and amendment of questions to be placed on the official ballot; and
* Procedures for the transfer of funds among various departments, funds, accounts and agencies as may be necessary during the year; and
* Applicability of the official ballot procedure to special elections
The charter also must specify whether a or majority vote is required to approve bonds or notes, with the default being .
New Jersey
In
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, under the
Faulkner Act, municipalities have a variety of models of local government. The
legislative branch follows the subdivision's style:
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
council,
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
council,
borough council,
township committee, or
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
council, except for
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
which has a
municipal council.
Ohio
In
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, the default form of municipal government organization provides limitations on the legislative body of a statutory form of government. The Ohio Revised Code does not allow the local legislative authority (council) the power to review contracts nor perform administrative duties
No review of Contractslimiting the
checks & balances in a statutory form of government. A charter form of government could provide the legislative body more administrative powers, change number of seats, or change required qualifications.
The Ohio Constitution provides for local self-government powers via a charter as defined i
Section 7 of Article XVIIIreads as follows:
Sections 8 and 9 of Article XVIII provide the procedures for adoption and amendment of a municipal charter.
The initial form of Municipal Government in Ohio is called Statuary because it is based on the default form outlined in the Ohio Revised Code statut
Title 7
Ohio Revised code allows for a system with no Mayor and strong council, known a
Section 705.51 , City manager plan.
City of Kent, Ohio Mayor Title Only for Ceremonial Purposes
The City of
Kent, Ohio has
charter formof Government which:
Bicameralism
Bicameral city councils were common in the United States until the 20th century, when many were abolished for
cost cutting purposes and replaced with
unicameral legislatures. Typically, bicameral city councils were divided into Common Councils and
Boards of Aldermen, to reflect the structure of federal and state legislatures. The city of
Everett, Massachusetts was the last to abolish its own bicameral city council (a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council) and replace it with an 11-member City Council, doing so with a November 8, 2011 referendum which took effect in 2014.
Examples include:
*
Philadelphia City Council was bicameral from 1789 to 1919, when it included a 149-member Common Council and 41-member Select Council, making it the largest municipal legislature in the United States.
*
Worcester City Council – 11-member Board of Aldermen; 30-member Common Council (1848–1948)
*
Seattle City Council – nine-member Board of Aldermen; 16-member House of Delegates (1890–1896)
*
New York City Council – a quasi-bicameral arrangement of the
New York City Board of Estimate and the City Council until the board's abolition in 1989
*
Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis – from 1877 to 1915
Others
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Community council, lowest tier of local government in England, Scotland and Wales
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Rural council (disambiguation)
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Rural Municipality or
Gaunpalika
A gaunpalika ( ) is an administrative division in Nepal. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (Nepal), Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development dissolved the existing Village development committee (Nepal), village developm ...
(
Nepal)
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Village council (Palestinian Authority)
See also
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County council
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Municipal elections
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Municipal corporation
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Petitions and
E-petitions (can be submitted to city councils
Petitions being an important citizen tool in Glasgow's City Council
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* Trustee (City Government-Village Board of Trustees)
References
{{reflist
Municipal council
Municipalities