City council

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A city council, town council, town board or board of aldermen is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.

Australia and New Zealand[edit]

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 larger urban areas of Australia are governed mostly by a single entity (see Brisbane and other Queensland cities), while others maybe 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.

Local councils in New Zealand 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. 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. This informal usage is jealously guarded. 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.

United Kingdom[edit]

In the UK, a city council is:

In England:

In Wales:

In Scotland:

In Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland[edit]

The 2001 Local Government Act restyled the five county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Limerick as city councils, with the same status in law as county councils. The 2014 Local Government Act Merged Limerick City and Limerick County Council together and Waterford City and Waterford County Council together effectively abolishing Waterford and Limerick City council, While Limerick and Waterford maintain City Status.

United States and Canada[edit]

A city council chambers in California

City councils and town boards generally consist of several (usually somewhere between 5 and 50) elected aldermen or councillors. In the United States, members of city councils are typically called councilmember or councilman/woman, while in Canada they are typically called councillor.

In some cities, the mayor 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 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 San Francisco, for example, it is known as the Board of Supervisors; San Francisco is a consolidated city-county and the California constitution requires each county to have a Board of Supervisors.


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 to take effect in 2014.

Examples include:


In the Republic of China, a city council represents a provincial city. Members of the councils are elected through local elections for provincial cities which are held every 4-5 years.

Councils for the provincial cities in Taiwan are Chiayi City Council, Hsinchu City Council and Keelung City Council.

See also[edit]