City vs Town

The State of Oklahoma makes clear distinctions on the way a city and a town may operate. Each classification is offered different forms of government. A form of government is the legal structure that dictates how a municipality is operated. The foundation of local government is a legal document called The City Charter or Town Charter. A charter is similar to a constitution has it sets the outline and structure of how the government is run. 

Cities in Oklahoma are offered more in terms of forms of government. They can choose from ; Strong Mayor-Council form , Weak Mayor-Council form and Council-Manager form of government.

Towns in Oklahoma can only have a Board of Trustees form of local government.

Forms of Local Government in Muskogee County

Within Muskogee County their are really only two forms of government the average resident may run into. 

Council-Manger form of Government

The City of Muskogee uses this form of Government. With the Council-Manager form of government, the City Council is the legislative body and appoints a professional administrator to handle operations, create a budget and appoint department heads. The City Council creates and approves ordinances, approves the budget, appoints citizens to city boards/commissions and provides oversight for the city government. More information is available on the City of Muskogee page.

The Council-Manager form of government is the most popular form of local governance in the United States. It was created in the early 20th century to help combat rampant civil corruption and to end clientelism among the public sector. This form of government is only available for municipalities classified as a city.

Board of Trustees form of Government

This form of government is only available for municipalities classified as towns. All Towns in Muskogee County use this form of government. Under this form of government, the municipality is governed by a board of trustees that is typically composed of three to five members who are elected by the citizens of the municipality. The board of trustees serves as the legislative and executive body of the municipality, making decisions on behalf of the community. It is designed to provide a simple, streamlined form of government for smaller communities that may not require the complexity of a larger municipal government structure. However some larger towns like Haskell or Fort Gibson have a town manager. Similar to a City Manager, a town manager is a appointed by the board of trustees to manage town operations, create a budget , hire and fire employees and to advise the Board.

List of Municipalities in Muskogee County

Cities

City of Muskogee (Council-Manager)

Towns

Town of Fort Gibson (Board of Trustees with Town Manager)

Town of Haskell (Board of Trustees with Town Manager)

Town of Warner (Board of Trustees with Town Manager)

Town of Webbers Falls (Board of Trustees)

Town of Porum (Board of Trustees)

Town of Wainwright (Board of Trustees)

Town of Council Hill (Board of Trustees)

Town of Oktaha (Board of Trustees)

Town of Boynton (Board of Trustees)

Town of Braggs (Board of Trustees)

Town of Taft (Board of Trustees)