Mayor–council government

The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States, and is also used in Brazil,[1] Canada, Italy, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, and Turkey.^{[citation needed]} It is the one most frequently adopted in large cities, although the other form, council–manager government, is the local government form of more municipalities.

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Common forms of local government
Executive and legislature separate Mayor - Council Executive mayor elected by the people, elected legislative City council Council - Manager Executive city manager hired by the elected City Council
Executive and legislature fused City Commission Elected commission enacts laws and governs
Direct democratic forms Town meeting Citizens vote on policy, officers, and laws
Executive arrangements in England Leader and cabinet Executive leader elected by the council from among themselves Elected mayor and cabinet Executive mayor elected by the people Committee system Executive leader and executive committees elected by the council from among themselves
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The form may be categorized into two main variations depending on the relative power of the mayor compared to the council. In a typical strong-mayor system, the elected mayor is granted almost total administrative authority with the power to appoint and dismiss department heads. In such a system, the mayor's administrative staff prepares the city budget, although that budget usually must be approved by the council.[2]

Conversely, in a weak-mayor system, the mayor has no formal authority outside the council, serving a largely ceremonial role as council chairperson. The mayor cannot directly appoint or remove officials, and lacks veto power over council votes.[3]

Most major American cities use the strong-mayor form of the mayor–council system, whereas middle-sized and small American cities tend to use the council–manager system.[4]