Board of Control

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In municipal government a Board of Control is an executive body that usually deals with financial and administrative matters. The idea is that a small body of four or five people is better able to make certain decisions than a large, unwieldy city council. Boards of Control were introduced in many North American municipalities in the early twentieth century as a product of the municipal reform movement. They proved unpopular with many as they tended to centralize power in a small body while disempowering city councils.

Boards of Control typically consist of the mayor and several Controllers who are elected on a city-wide basis as opposed to aldermen who were elected on a ward basis. As a result, Boards of Control tended to be less representative of the diverse opinions and communities with majority views among the population being overrepresented. As well, since they were elected by a larger electorate running for a seat on the Board of Control would be prohibitively expensive for many municipal politicians resulting in wealthier politicians being more likely to run for the body. Lastly, Boards of Control tended to meet in camera rather than in open session in the manner of city councils making them less accountable to the public.

Due to these problems, many municipalities abolished Boards of Control in the years following World War II.