The principal elected officials in Maryland’s incorporated municipalities are usually the mayor and members of the council. In some municipalities, the mayor may be known as burgess or president and the councilmembers may be known as alderman, councilors, or commissioners.
While no two municipalities are precisely alike, each falls into one of the structural categories common to all municipal governments in the United States. The structure of the government for a particular city or town, as it is provided for in the municipal charter, defines the specific responsibilities of elected officials.