Legislative authority is vested in a five member City Council with overlapping terms of four years. Four members are elected from the city to represent each of four wards and one is elected at-large. Meeting regularly in Council Chambers at the rear of 321 West Bryan Street on the first and third Mondays (7:30 p.m.) Of each month, the Council establishes compensation of city employees and enacts ordinances and resolutions relating to city services, contract, purchases of land or major equipment, the appropriation and borrowing of money, and other municipal purposes. Council annually appoints one of its members to be President and another to be Vice-President.

The Charter establishes the administrative departments of Law, Finance, Parks & Recreation, Streets, Wastewater Treatment, Police, Fire, and Engineering. The council may establish divisions of those departments and additional departments. The City has its own municipal utility, consisting of Electric, Water, and Communications, which is under the control and supervision of a five-member Board of Public Affairs elected from a city at large for four-year overlapping terms. The board of Public Affairs appoints a Director of Utilities to serve as executive head. The Board meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m. at 841 East Edgerton Street. City Council approves and appropriates the BPA’s itemized budget, but does not otherwise control Municipal Utilities expenditures or supervise its operations. The Law and Finance Departments are shared by Council and Board of Public Affairs.

The Mayor is elected by the voters for a four-year term. Except for Bryan Municipal Utilities, the Mayor appoints, subject to the approval of Council, all the city’s Department Heads. The Mayor also appoints members to a number of Boards and Commissions and appoints and removes, again with Council approval, all non-elected, non-Municipal Utilities employees, in accordance with contract provisions and civil service requirements.