<P> The strong - mayor form of mayor--council government usually consists of an executive branch, a mayor elected by voters, and a unicameral council as the legislative branch . </P> <P> In the strong - mayor form the elected mayor is given almost total administrative authority and a clear, wide range of political independence, with the power to appoint and dismiss department heads without council approval and little or no public input . In this system, the strong - mayor prepares and administers the city budget, although that budget often must be approved by the council . Abuses in this form led to the development of the council--manager form of local government and its adoption widely throughout the United States . </P> <P> In some strong - mayor governments, the mayor will appoint a chief administrative officer who will supervise department heads, prepare the budget, and coordinate departments . This officer is sometimes called a city manager; while the term city manager is used in the council--manager form of municipal government, the manager in the strong - mayor variant is responsible only to the mayor . </P> <P> Most major and large American cities use the strong - mayor form of the mayor--council system, whereas middle - sized and small American cities tend to use the council--manager system . </P>

Who has the power to appoint state officials