Forms of Government Overview

MRSC - August 2003

Washington cities and towns are organized under three principal forms of government: the mayor-council form, the council-manager form and the commission form. Of Washington's 281 cities and towns, 227 (81%) operate under the mayor-council form, 53 (18%) have adopted the council-manager form, and 1 (<1%) operates under the commission form. As a practical matter, the primary forms are the mayor-council and the council-manager forms, since there is only one remaining commission city and no cities have adopted this form in recent years.

Each of these alternative forms represents a somewhat different approach to organizing the political and administrative structure of a city or town government. In general, choosing the form of government is not an matter of how much legislative and/or administrative authority the city or town will have. That will be the same regardless of the form that is selected. The most significant differences between the two primary forms of government stem from the location and distribution of authority between the legislative and executive officials. These factors account for most of the differences between the two primary forms of government and have different implications for how a city or town will be governed and administered.

Mayor-Council Form of Government

The mayor-council form consists of an elected mayor (elected at-large), who serves as the city's chief administrative officer, and a council (elected either at-large or from districts), which serves as the municipality's legislative body. The council has the authority to formulate and adopt city policies and the mayor is responsible for carrying them out. The mayor attends and presides over council meetings but does not vote, except in the case of a tie.

Mayoral veto authority is specified in the state laws relating to each city classification or is determined by local charter. In first class cities, the mayor's veto authority is specified in the city charter. In second class cities, the mayor may veto an ordinance, but the mayor's veto can be overridden by five members of the council. In code cities, the mayor may veto ordinances, but the mayor's veto can be overridden by a majority plus one of the entire council membership. Town mayors do not have a veto power.

Many mayor-council cities have hired professional city administrators to serve under the mayor and assist with administrative and policy-related duties. By doing so, these cities hope to gain the benefits of professional management, allowing the mayor to focus greater attention on policy development and political leadership roles.

Council-Manager Form of Government

The council-manager form consists of an elected city council which is responsible for policy making, and a professional city manager, appointed by the council, who is responsible for administration. The city manager provides policy advice, directs the daily operations of city government, handles personnel functions (including the power to appoint and remove employees) and is responsible for preparing the city budget.

Under the council-manager statutes, the city council is prohibited from interfering with the manager's administration. The city manager, however, is directly accountable to and can be removed by a majority vote of the council at any time.

The mayor in council-manager cities is generally selected by the city council. The person selected must also be a councilmember. In optional municipal code cities or first class cities, the mayor may be directly elected by the people. The mayor presides at council meetings and is recognized as the head of the city for ceremonial purposes, but has no regular administrative duties.

Commission Form of Government

The commission form provides for the election of three commissioners who function collectively as the city legislative body and individually as city department heads. The three are elected at-large to fill the specific offices of commissioner of public safety (who also serves as the mayor), commissioner of finance and accounting, and commissioner of streets and public improvements (public works).

Although one of the elected commissioners also has the title of mayor, he or she has essentially the same powers as the other commissioners, and has no veto power nor any power to direct city administration except within his/her own department. The commission appoints and removes officials by a majority vote.

Procedures for Changing Form of Government

Any city may change its form of government and adopt another authorized form of government. In general, the procedure may be initiated either by a resolution adopted by the city council or by a petition process, both of which are then followed by an election on the issue of reorganizing under a different form of government. For more detailed information on procedures for changing forms of government, see Reorganizing/Changing Form of Government.