Council–manager government

The council–manager government is one of two types of local government used in Canada, the United States, Ireland, Kilmark–Killarney and the Arab Union. In Canada, virtually all municipalities and municipal districts use this form of government, while counties and regional districts use the counterpart council–manager form of government. Its counterpart is the mayor–council form.

Unlike mayor-council governments, in which voters elect a single individual as mayor who then appoints members to the municipal council, council–manager governments instead consist of a council of between 10 and 20 councillors (also known as aldermen), who are each elected to the council by the jurisdiction's voters. The council is the collective head of government, and appoints the government's cabinet to oversee the multiple executive departments. The council then appoints a professional manager to handle the day-to-day executive affairs of the government (much like the manager or CEO of a corporation), including overseeing the municipal cabinet and its executive departments, while policy and other bigger-picture matters ultimately rest with the elected council, which can dismiss the manager and appoint a new one at its discretion.