- As one of the earliest forms of structured city government, the Mayor-Council model saw common use throughout the U.S. until the early 1900s. The model uses a mayor as the city's executive officer and a city council as its legislative branch. Each council member represents a specific ward or neighborhood segment of the city. Between the two bodies exists a check and balance, as important appointments are made by the mayor with the council's approval. The council can vote on measures but the mayor retains a veto power.
- Unlike the Mayor-Council model, the Commission approach does not separate the administrative and legislative areas. They are combined into one group, with each member elected by campaign and a city-wide vote. The city agencies and departments are split up and report in groups to one of the commissioners. The head commissioner serves in the role as the city mayor, but there is no increase in authority versus that of the other commissioners. Decisions are ratified by consensus and majority vote.
- This approach uses a city manager to address the daily administrative decision-making in running a city government. The city manager acts as a chief executive officer of the city, managing and directing the roles of all the city agencies and departments. The manager serves at the pleasure of the city council, who can hire and fire him at any time. Generally, such terms are bound by a detailed employment contract rather than an at-will hiring, however.
- On a practical level, cities come up with different versions of the above three categories. These hybrids address interests driven by local politics and how city government power should be shared. Sacramento, California, for example, uses a Council-Manager approach but with a mayor council member as well (similar to the Commission Model). The city manager is hired and let go administratively and acts as the city's executive officer over departments. The mayor in the Sacramento version is weaker than a traditional mayor in the Mayor-Council model, and the hired city manager reports to both him and the city council as one group.
- While not a standard category of city government, a practical trend that is shared by towns and villages too small to operate as cities involves the town charter. This approach uses an elected group such as a council or board to run the general rules of the community, in much the same way as a homeowner's association operates. This model then provides basic direction for community utilities, policing, town events, maintenance and similar municipal functions.
previous post