In the USA

“Board of Aldermen” is the governing executive or legislative body of many cities und town in the United States. The term is sometimes used instead of city council, or is used of an executive board independent of the council, or is used of what amount to an upper house of a bicameral legislature (as it was in New York City until the 20^th century).

Historically the term could also refer to local municipal judges in small legal proceedings in some states.

Internet Research

Find out and present the information about:

- Mayor of London – setting the vision and developing strategies to deliver it;

- Making London the best city in the world;

- Local government in the USA;

- Municipal government;

- Local government in Canada.

Here are some sites to get you started:

1. Mayor of London [Электронный ресурс]: London. Gov. UK. Greater London Authority, cop. London.Gov.UK 2012. – Режим доступа: www.london.gov.uk/who-runs/london/mayor, свободный. – Загл. с экрана.

2. Merriam-Webster Online [Электронный ресурс]: Merriam-Webster, cop. Merriam-Webster Incorporated 2012. – Режим доступа: www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/, свободный. – Загл. с экрана.

3. Mayor, Wiki [Электронный ресурс]: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, cop. Wikipedia 2012. – Режим доступа: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor, свободный. – Загл. с экрана.

Mayor

1. Mayor is the head of a municipal government and is usually the chairman of the municipal council and of the council executive committee. He may fulfill the roles of chief executive officer, ceremonial figurehead, and local agent of the central government. In a more recent system of municipal management - the council-manager system – the mayor’s role is much reduced, he serves essentially only as head of the council. Whatever the form of local government, the mayor’s role may be said to rest largely on his relationship to the council and to the central government.

2. Mayors are either appointed or elected. In Europe, until the middle of the 19^th century, most mayors were appointed by the central government. With the rise of representative government, more countries adopted the practice of electing the mayor. This practice takes a variety of forms. In most European countries the mayor is elected by the local council from its members; usually he is the leader of the majority party. In Switzerland, Canada and Philippines, most mayors are popularly elected.

3. In countries where the mayor is an agent of the central government, as in France, the mayor is usually the actual as well as the nominal head of the local government. In other words, his position is generally determined by the central government, and he has much greater executive powers that the council. As an agent of the central government, the mayor is the mainspring of the municipal administration and the focal point of policy.

4. With the development of popularly elected municipal councils, most mayors have taken on a dual role, serving not only as chief executive officers of the municipal administration but also as agents of the central government charged with such functions as maintaining public order, security, and health. In the United States the central government never did control the cities directly and mayors were either elected by the populace at large or chosen by a city council whose members were also so elected.

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