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Atown council,city council ormunicipal council is a form oflocal government generally found in small to medium-sizedmunicipalities ordistricts. The exact usage of these terms varies across different jurisdictions.
There are currently seventown 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.
Township councils in Ontario play a similar role ascity councils in cities for smaller or low tier municipalities.[1] 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 theMunicipal Act.
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 orreeve.
In 2002, 49urban district councils and 26town commissioners were redesignated as 75 town councils as a tier of local government below the county council. Five additional local authorities retained the higher status as borough councils. All 80 second-tier municipal authorities were abolished under theLocal Government Reform Act 2014, with effect at the2014 Irish local elections.
In England, since theLocal Government Act 1972, "town council" is the specific name for acivil parish council which has declared itself by resolution to be a town council. If another type of local council, such as adistrict authority, covers a single town (such asLuton orStevenage) then the council is often a 'borough council': borough status is however conferred at the discretion ofthe Crown.
Civil parishes are the most local level in the local government system. The higher levels aredistrict,unitary andcounty. However town councils are not subordinate in democratic accountability to those higher levels, but to the electorate of their civil parish area.
The chair of a town council is entitled to be styled as "town mayor". This term contrasts with simply "mayor", which means the mayor of aborough or acity. However, this is often abbreviated simply to mayor, especially where the town was historically a borough or city, such asLewes orEly. In Scotland, 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 amunicipal borough until the1972 act.
InWales, where the lowest tier of local government is known as acommunity, the community council may unilaterally declare itself to be a town council, but this has the same status as a community council.
ThePalestinian Authority (PA) establishedvillage 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.
InSingapore, town councils are responsible for managing and maintaining the common areas ofpublic housing estates by theHousing and Development Board (HDB). Their duties include the miscellaneous upkeep of corridors,void decks, lifts, water tanks, external lighting and open spaces around the estates. Town councils operate under the framework of the Town Councils Act (Cap. 329A, 2000 Rev. Ed.).
The rationale was to delegate estate management duties toMembers of Parliament (MPs) alongside their national responsibilities. This arrangement was intended to provide MPs with management experience, increase their accountability and strengthen their familiarity with residents at the local level.[2]
Town council boundaries are based onelectoral districts. A town council may cover agroup representation constituency (GRC), asingle member constituency (SMC) or a combination of neighbouring GRCs and SMCs held by the same political party. Each town council is headed by the MPs of its constituencies, supported by an appointed board. These boundaries do not align withplanning areas, which are used forurban planning. As a result, different parts of the same HDB town or planning area may fall under different town councils.[3]
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 councilmembers 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 electedtown 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 andtown managers. These employees serve at the pleasure of the council.
Town councils inMassachusetts are essentiallycity 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 atown meeting; the executive board is aboard 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 theattorney general. City ordinances are presumed to be legal unless challenged and set aside in court.SeeMassachusetts government.
InMichigan, there are257 incorporated villages that are governed by village councils, which is a form ofweak–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.[4][5][6]
InNew Hampshire, theTown Council is an elected body which serves as thelegislative and executive body of the town. The town is governed by acharter, which is allowed under thehome rule provision of theNew 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 ofRSA 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.
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:
The charter also must specify whether a2⁄3 or3⁄5 majority vote is required to approve bonds or notes, with the default being2⁄3.
