Legal Definitions - commission government

A commission government is a structure for local government, typically found in cities or towns, where a small group of elected officials, known as commissioners, collectively holds both the power to create local laws and policies (legislative power) and the responsibility for overseeing the daily operations and administration of the city (executive power). In this system, each commissioner often heads a specific municipal department, such as public works or finance, while also participating in the collective decision-making for the entire municipality.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how a commission government functions:

• Imagine the city of Maplewood, which operates under a commission government with five elected commissioners. Commissioner A is responsible for the Public Safety Department (police and fire), Commissioner B for Public Works (roads, sanitation), Commissioner C for Finance, Commissioner D for Parks and Recreation, and Commissioner E for Community Development. When the city needs to pass a new ordinance about waste management or approve the annual budget, all five commissioners meet as a legislative body to vote on these matters. Once approved, Commissioner B (Public Works) is directly responsible for implementing the new waste management plan, and Commissioner C (Finance) manages the budget. This example demonstrates how a small group of individuals holds both the power to make laws and the direct responsibility for executing them within their respective departments.

• Consider the town of Riverbend, a smaller municipality with a population of 15,000 that uses a commission government. Three commissioners are elected. One commissioner is designated as the Mayor-Commissioner, overseeing general administration and representing the town. The other two commissioners are responsible for specific areas like infrastructure and community services. When a decision needs to be made about repairing a bridge or funding a new community center, these three individuals collectively debate and vote on the issue. After the vote, the relevant commissioner directly supervises the project's execution. This illustrates how a small number of people (three commissioners) hold legislative power (debating and voting on projects) and are also directly involved in the executive implementation of those decisions, often seen in smaller municipalities for streamlined governance.

• In the city of Portsmouth, which has a commission government, the five elected commissioners are directly accountable to the public for both the laws they pass and the performance of the departments they oversee. For instance, if residents are unhappy with the condition of city parks, they know exactly which commissioner (the one in charge of Parks and Recreation) to address. That same commissioner also has a vote on the budget and policies affecting the parks. This example highlights how a small group of individuals holds both legislative power (making park policies, allocating funds) and executive power (managing the parks department), leading to direct and often highly visible accountability to the public.