Questions about town and parish councils

Can a town council have a chairman and a mayor?

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At the annual full council meeting of a town council, there were three elections on the agenda: for chairman, for mayor and for vice chairman. The outcome is that the mayor is a different councillor to the chairman. That does not appear to comply with LGA 1972 s245 6(b) which effectively states that "mayor" is an alternative title for the chairman, and "deputy mayor" an alternative title for the vice-chairman. Has anyone ever heard of a town (parish) council where the mayor is a different councillor to the chairman?

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by (120 points)

1 Answer

+1 vote
No. You are correct. The mayor is a courtesy title for the chairman of a local council that has opted to be called a town council.
by (33.1k points)
I agree but interestingly I've heard of the role being separated before so it's not entirely new.  Not sure why you would do it that way unless the civic nature of the mayor's role is not to everyone's taste.
by (18.6k points)

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