FORMS OF CITY GOVERNMENT
There are two different structures of government that most cities utilize, either the Mayor-Council system or the Council-Manager system.
”STRONG” MAYOR-COUNCIL
Under this system the Mayor is the chief executive and the City Council is the legislative body. This system is modeled after the Federal Constitution structure of government. The primary components are: MAYOR Chief Executive
CITY COUNCIL Legislature
Not A Member Of The City Council Proposes City Budget Appoints Department Directors Veto Authority
Elects Own Presiding Officer Sets City Council Agenda Approves City Budget Mayoral Veto Override Authority
COUNCIL-MANAGER
Under this system the City Council is the legislative body and an appointed City Manager is the Chief executive. This system is modeled after the corporate structure of governance. The primary components are: CITY COUNCIL Legislature
CITY MANAGER Chief Executive
Appoints City Manager Approves City Budget Mayor Is City Council Chairperson
Proposes City Budget Appoints Department Directors Sets City Council Agenda
50 LARGEST CITIES
STRUCTURE Mayor - Council Council - Manager Commission CITIES 31 18 1 PERCENTAGE 62% 36% 2% POPULATION 8,104,079 3,845,541 2,862,244 2,012,626 1,470,151 1,418,041 1,263,756 1,236,249 1,210,393 904,522 900,198 784,242 777,704 744,230 730,008 681,804 671,929 636,251 603,337 594,359 592,099 583,624 571,480 569,165 556,432
RANK CITY STRUCTURE New York City, 1 Mayor - Council NY 2 Los Angeles, CA Mayor - Council 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Chicago, IL Houston, TX Philadelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ San Diego, CA San Antonio, TX Dallas, TX San Jose, CA Detroit, MI Indianapolis, IN Jacksonville, FL San Francisco, CA Columbus, OH Austin, TX Memphis, TN Baltimore, MD Fort Worth, TX Charlotte, NC El Paso, TX Milwaukee, WI Seattle, WA Boston, MA Denver, CO Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Council - Manager Mayor - Council Council - Manager Council - Manager Council - Manager Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Council - Manager Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Council - Manager Council - Manager Council - Manager Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council
CITY STRUCTURE Louisville, KY Mayor - Council Washington, DC Mayor - Council Nashville, TN Mayor - Council Las Vegas, NV Council - Manager Portland, OR Commission * Oklahoma City, 31 Council - Manager OK 32 Tuscon, AZ Council - Manager Albuquerque, 33 Mayor - Council NM 34 Long Beach, CA Council - Manager 35 New Orleans, LA Mayor - Council 36 Cleveland, OH Mayor - Council 37 Fresno, CA Mayor - Council 38 Sacramento, CA Council - Manager 39 Kansas City, MO Council - Manager Virginia Beach, 40 Council - Manager VA 41 Mesa, AZ Council - Manager 42 Atlanta, GA Mayor - Council 43 Omaha, NE Mayor - Council 44 Oakland, CA Mayor - Council 45 Tulsa, OK Mayor - Council 46 Miami, FL Mayor - Council 47 Honolulu, HI Mayor - Council 48 Minneapolis, MN Mayor - Council Colorado Springs, 49 Council - Manager CO 50 Arlington, TX Council - Manager U.S. Census 2004 Population Estimates
RANK 26 27 28 29 30
POPULATION 556,332 553,523 546,719 534,847 533,492 528,042 512,023 484,246 476,564 462,269 458,684 457,719 454,719 444,387 440,098 437,454 419,122 409,114 397,976 383,764 379,724 377,260 373,943 369,363 359,467
10 OTHER CITIES
CITY St. Louis, MO Pittsburgh, PA STRUCTURE Mayor - Council Mayor - Council POPULATION 343,279 322,450
Tampa, FL St. Paul, MN Anchorage, AK Birmingham, AL Fort Wayne, IN Spokane, WA
Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council Mayor - Council
321,772 276.963 272,687 249,090 233,149 219,351 196,721 178,605
St. Petersburg, FL Mayor - Council
Salt Lake City, UT Mayor - Council
STRUCTURAL TRENDS
U.S. CITIES
(Population over 100,000)
Adopted Mayor - Council Government
1990 - Tulsa, Oklahoma Pop. 383,764 Replaced Council - Manager government 1993 - St. Petersburg, Florida Pop. 249,090 Replaced Council - Manager government 1993 - Fresno, California Pop. 457,719 Replaced Council - Manager government 1994 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota Pop. 136,695 Replaced Council - Manager government 1998 - Oakland, California Pop. 397,976 Replaced Council - Manager government 6 year pilot made permanent in 2004 1999 - Spokane, Washington Pop. 196,721 Replaced Council - Manager government 2002 proposal to return to Council - Manager government failed 2002 - Hartford, Connecticut Pop. 124,848 Replaced Council - Manager government 2003 - Richmond, Virginia Pop. 192,494
Replaced Council - Manager government 2004 - San Diego, California Pop. 1,263,756 Replaced Council - Manager government 5 year pilot starts in 2006
Adopted Council - Manager Government
2004 - El Paso, Texas Pop. 592,099 Replaced Mayor - Council government 2004 - Topeka, Kansas Pop. 121,809 Replaced Mayor - Council government 1985, Replaced Commission government with Mayor - Council government 2005 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa Pop. 122,206 Replaced Commission government