A
city council is a form of
local government, usually covering a
city or other
urban area, such as a
town.
The meaning of "City council" varies widely between different countries.
Australia
In some Australian jurisdictions, a 'city council' is an informal way of referring to
local government areas in built-up areas
United Kingdom
- Main article: Local government in the United Kingdom
In the UK, a city council is:
In
England:
In
Wales:
In
Scotland
In
Northern Ireland
United States
- Main article: Local government in the United States
City councils generally consist of several (usually somewhere between 5 and 50, depending on the city's size) elected
aldermen or
councillors. Other common titles for members of the council include
councilmember or
councilman/woman.
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 council generally functions as a
parliamentary or
congressional style legislative body, proposing bills, holding votes, and passing laws to help govern the city.
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 simply to serve as
acting mayor in the absence of the 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 because San Francisco is a
consolidated city-county and the
California constitution requires each county to have a
Board of Supervisors.
See also
A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws.
Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings.
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Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, politics is observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious
..... Click the link for more information. A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws.
Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings.
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This is a list of legislatures by country, whether parliamentary or congressional, that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives with the power to legislate. In the lists below all entities included in the list of countries are included.
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parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modelled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler (to speak): a parlement
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A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its
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Parliamentary group and parliamentary party are terms used to refer to the representation of a political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or in a city council.
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The chairperson of a fraction is in parliamentary system with strong party discipline an influential political post. When the party is in opposition or a minor partner in a governing coalition he or she is often the political leader of a party and often the main media contact.
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In politics, a congress ("a gathering of people") is the name of the main legislative body in a state that operates under a congressional system of government. In non-political usage congress is a term applied to a large national or international grouping of people meeting together
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worldwide view.
A
Congressman or
Congresswoman is a politician who is a
member of a
Congress. In countries with a parliament rather than a congress, MP (Member of Parliament) is used instead; however, this can be adapted (see below).
..... Click the link for more information. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Many countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary.
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bicameralism (bi + Latin camera, chamber) is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses.
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Tricameralism is the practice of having three legislative or parliamentary chambers. It is contrasted to unicameralism and bicameralism, both of which are far more common.
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Many parliaments or other legislatures consist of two chambers: an elected lower house, and an upper house or Senate which may be appointed or elected by a different mechanism from the lower house. This style of two houses is called bicameral.
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upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.
Possible specific characteristics
An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:
..... Click the link for more information. senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. There have been many such bodies in history, the first of which was the Roman Senate.
Overview
The word senate is derived from the Latin word senatus
..... Click the link for more information. lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.
Despite its theoretical position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power.
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red and orange—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state.
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councillor (Cllr or Clr for short) is a member of a council (such as a city council), particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other parts of the Commonwealth, as well as in the Republic of Ireland.
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Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state or province. The term is used to contrast with offices that stand naked nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or (where appropriate) federal government.
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city is an urban settlement with a particularly important status which differentiates it from a town.
City is primarily used to designate an urban settlement with a large population. However, city may also indicate a special administrative, legal, or historical status.
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An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. This term is at one end of the spectrum of suburban and rural areas. An urban area is more frequently called a city or town.
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town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. Usually, a "town" is thought of as larger than a village but smaller than a "city".
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Local Government Area (abbreviated LGA) is a term used in Australia (and especially by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) to refer to areas controlled by each individual Local Government.
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There is no single system of local government in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is made up of constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each has a different system of local government.
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England, covering urban areas within metropolitan counties.
Metropolitan boroughs of London (1900-1965)
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Some unitary authorities are technically non-metropolitan districts.
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The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four types of district level subdivision.
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City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The status does not apply automatically on the basis of any particular criteria, although in England and Wales it was traditionally given to towns with diocesan cathedrals.
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