Under The Weak Mayor-Council System

Under the weak mayor system, voters elect council members and a mayor with limitations on his or her powers. The mayor presides over council meetings, but council members oversee various municipal departments such as public safety, planning, finance and parks. In some cities, the mayor has sought more power by asking voters to allow him or her to do more than be the presiding council member.

This could lead the way to a strong mayor-council system, but actually strong mayor was seen as a panacea for municipal corruption at the end of the 1890s. This means the voters elected council members with certain powers a strong mayor is elected who can prepare budgets, veto council votes and have a great deal of influence over various municipal departments. …show more content…
Under this system, an elected five-to-seven-member council hires a professional administrator or manager to put its policies into effect. The appointed top executive develops a spending plan, manages personnel and advises the council on policy. The council many times elects one of its own members to preside over meeting and rotates the ceremonial title of