Mayor vs. City Manager: What’s the Difference?

A mayor is the chief executive officer of a city or town. Nearly all of America's larger cities have an elected mayor atop the hierarchy of their municipal government. Mayoral duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. 1. Political leadership: The mayor is the public face of a local government. They address the media and the general public. They are also held responsible for the conduct of city officials, even officials who do not report directly to them.
2. 2. Policy generation: A city's mayor charts its public policy course. Policy decisions come from consultation with the public and other members of government.
3. 3. Working with the city council: In a mayor-council form of government, the mayor shares governing duties with a city council. In some municipalities such as Phoenix, the mayor is the head of the council. They attend council meetings and vote on legislation along with other city council members. In other cities like Los Angeles, the mayor does not serve on the council but may propose legislation. In this case, the mayor can approve or veto bills that pass through the council (a mayor who serves on the city council would not have that veto power).
4. 4. Leading city agencies: Mayors and legislative bodies may draft laws and set policies, but enacting those policies involves a bureaucracy. In some cases, the mayor may oversee departments like the police and public schools to ensure that policy decisions are carried out.
5. 5. Job appointment: In cities with a strong-mayor system (where the mayor has considerable authority over personnel), such as New York and Chicago, the mayor may appoint and remove city commissioners and city administrators. In a weak-mayor system (where the mayor has little control over policy), as is used in Dallas, the mayor cannot make such personnel changes. Appointing and removing employees is more likely to fall to a city manager.

A city manager is the chief administrative officer of a municipality that operates on a council-manager form of government. A city manager is not elected like a mayor but may be a full-time position. Typical duties of a city manager include:

• Executing laws and regulations: While elected officials like city councilors and a mayor might write laws, the city manager is responsible for implementing them.
• Overseeing day-to-day operations of a city: A typical city has many agencies and departments that handle city business, including police, fire, public works, and schools. In a council-manager system of government, the city manager makes sure these departments function properly.
• Budgeting: As with any professional manager, a city manager may be responsible for overseeing the budget, expenditures, and disbursements.
• Working with the city council: A city manager does not vote on city council matters, but they do attend council meetings, often moderating them. Managers also exist on a county level, in which case they work alongside a county management association.

The council-manager form of government is popular in the West and Southwest. Cities like San Antonio and Las Vegas notably use this system.

Mayors and city managers both sit atop local governments, but the positions have notable differences.

1. 1. Mayors are elected, but city managers are not. Mayors are typically elected to either a two-year term or a four-year term. City managers tend to be long-term city employees who are hired or fired by a legislative body.
2. 2. City managers tend to have more specific training. Many city managers hold a Masters of Public Administration (MPA), a graduate level degree tailored toward managing large public institutions. Mayors may hold an MPA, but they are typically elected based upon political skill.
3. 3. City managers often make more money than mayors. In small cities, city managers are prized for their administrative abilities and tend to draw fairly substantial salaries; mayors tend to make lower salaries on average.

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