Local government org chart example
A mid-sized city on the council–manager model, drawn with the line that matters most in government: who is elected and who is appointed. The council sets policy and hires one person; that person runs everything — except the two officers the council keeps for itself.
How a local government is usually structured
The top of a local government chart is a body, not a person. The city council — with the mayor as its presiding member in a council–manager city — is elected, sets policy and the budget, and hires exactly one employee: the city manager (elsewhere the chief administrative officer or chief executive). Draw the council as one card at the top. Individual members and their committees belong on a governance chart, as a nonprofit's board committees do.
Below the manager, the government is departments: public works, parks and recreation, planning and development, finance and administration, and the two uniformed services, police and fire, each with a chief. Departments are large and layered — public works alone will have divisions for streets, water, fleet and facilities — so the chart shows directors and division heads and stacks the rest.
Two officers sit outside the manager's line on purpose. The city clerk keeps the records, runs elections and publishes the council's business, and reports to the council so those functions do not depend on the administration. The city attorney advises the council and is usually appointed by it. In a strong-mayor city the mayor is the executive and the manager's card disappears; in a UK or Commonwealth council the same shape has a chief executive under councillors and a cabinet. The drawing is the same; the words change.
Typical titles by level
The vocabulary these charts use, from the top down. Titles vary by country and by company; the levels don't.
| Level | Titles you'll see |
|---|---|
| Elected | City Council or Board of Aldermen, Mayor (presiding member, or the executive in a strong-mayor city), County Board of Supervisors or Commissioners |
| Appointed by the council | City Manager or Chief Administrative Officer, City Clerk, City Attorney, sometimes the Municipal Judge |
| Department heads | Police Chief, Fire Chief, Public Works Director, Finance Director, Planning & Development Director, Parks & Recreation Director, Human Resources Director, IT Director, Library Director, Community Services Director |
| Divisions and staff | Deputy or Assistant Chief, Division Manager (Streets, Water, Fleet, Facilities), Superintendent, Supervisor, Crew Leader, Engineer, Planner, Building Inspector, Analyst, Clerk, Technician, Equipment Operator |
Where these charts go wrong
Government charts go wrong by drawing the mayor as the boss of the city manager in a council–manager city (the council is); by putting the clerk under the manager; by charting every division and every rank so the document is forty pages; and by leaving the elected body off altogether, so the public reads the chart and cannot find the people it elected.
Questions people ask
- Who does the city manager report to?
- The city council as a body, not the mayor. In a council–manager city the council hires, evaluates and can dismiss the manager; the mayor presides over the council and is one vote. In a strong-mayor city there is no manager — the mayor is the executive and department heads report to them.
- Why do the city clerk and city attorney report to the council?
- So the record-keeping, elections and legal advice the council depends on do not depend on the administration the council oversees — the same reason internal audit reports to a board rather than a chief executive. Some cities put one or both under the manager; the chart should say which.
- How do you show police and fire ranks?
- The chief and the deputy or assistant chiefs on the city chart, with the department's own chart holding the captains, lieutenants and sergeants. Ranks are a command structure inside the department and mean little to the rest of the government.
- Where do boards and commissions go?
- On a governance chart, beside the council, not on the staff chart. A planning commission does not manage the planning department; the department staffs it. A note on the department card saying which commission it staffs is usually the right amount.
Other industries
- ManufacturingTwo shifts, and quality kept out of production's line.
- LogisticsDispatch runs the day; supervisors run the people.
- ConstructionOffice and field, meeting on every project.
- Software startupSquads under a CTO; product managers on a dotted line.
- NonprofitThe board on top, programmes beside the money.
- Medical practiceA clinical line and a business line, crossing at nursing.
- SchoolDepartments led by teachers who also manage.
- HotelSix divisions around one general manager.
- Marketing agencyDisciplines own people; pods own the work.
- Security & facilities servicesSites stacked under supervisors; a 24-hour control room.
- Sales teamRegions for closers, a team for openers, RevOps beside them.
- Accounting firmA partner pyramid, three service lines.
- Law firmPractice groups, and the business side that runs the firm.
- ChurchA board that governs, a pastor who leads, ministries below.
- RestaurantFront of house and back of house, meeting at the pass.
- IT departmentRun, build and secure, under one director.
- HR departmentPartners, specialists and operations: the three legs.
- Utility companyField crews, a 24-hour control centre, and a regulator in the room.
- BankThree lines of defence, drawn as lines.
- Staffing agencySales desks, recruiting desks, and a back office that pays two thousand people.
Or start from a structure — functional, divisional, matrix or flat — or from your own spreadsheet. The guides cover a reorg, a merger, an assistant's chart and a consultant's deliverable.
Make it yours
Download the spreadsheet, replace the names, import it — the chart redraws itself. Or start empty and drag people until it's true. Building is free at any size.