City Commission government is a form of municipal government that was once common in the United States, but has fallen out of favor, most cities formerly governed by Commission having switched to the Council-Manager form. Some consider the City Commission as a predecessor of the Council-Manager form.
In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically from five to seven members, on an at-large basis. These commissioners constitute the legislative body of the city and as a group are responsible for taxation, appropriations, ordinances, and other general functions. Individual commissioners are assigned responsibility for a specific aspect of municipal affairs, such as public works, finance, or public safety. One commissioner is designated to function as chairman or mayor, but this was largely a procedural or ceremonial designation and typically did not involve significant additional powers beyond that exercised by the other commissioners. As such, this form of government blends legislative and executive branch functions in the same body.
It is in many ways similar to the "weak mayor" form of Mayor-council government.
History
This form of government originated in Galveston, Texas as a response to the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. After the constitutionality was tested and confirmed, this form of government quickly became popular across the state of Texas and spread to other parts of the United States. The City Commission form is sometimes known as the Galveston Plan or the Texas Idea. Des Moines, Iowa became the first city outside Texas to adopt this form, and along with other reforms, its variation become known as the Des Moines Plan.
The city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa has also used the commission form of government for a number of years. The city has a five member full time council - a mayor, a streets commissioner, a finance commissioner, a safety commissioner, and a parks commissioner. Recently a movement has emerged in Cedar Rapids to change the form of government. A committee has recommended changing to either the strong mayor or council-manager form of government, or staying with the current system. Voters will decide later which direction they want the city to take.
The council-manager form of government developed at least in part as a response to some perceived limitations of the commission form. The council-manager form became the preferred alternative for progressive reform, and after World War I, very few cities adopted the commission form and many cities using the commission plan switched to the council-manager form.
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