Town Council

About the Town Council

The Town Council consists of five members who are elected every two years on an at-large plurality voting basis to govern the Town of Berwyn Heights. The Mayor serves as the head of the government and presides at all Council meetings, but in other respects is an equal member of the Council. The Mayor Pro Tempore assumes the Mayoral duties in the absence of the Mayor.

The Town Council has both legislative and executive powers. As a legislative body, the Town Council enacts ordinances, resolutions and agreements that regulate community life within the framework of federal, state and local laws. Each year, the Council passes a balanced budget to fund the operations of Town departments and projects deemed to be a priority. As part of the budget process, the Council sets real and personal property tax rates, fees for services, as well as certain code and police fines.

In addition, each individual Councilmember exercises executive powers as a department head of one of the Town's departments: Administration, Code Compliance, Parks & Recreation, Public Safety or Public Works. In this role, the Councilmember acts as a liaison to the department and monitors policy issues affecting the department. On occasion, the Council sits in a quasi-judicial capacity, as when ruling on home owners' appeals to code violation fines or commenting on variances.

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