The mayor and four council members make legislative policy for the city, enact ordinances, approve the budget and govern this city of 26,000 people.
Mayor Mary Sessom was first elected to the council in 1994 and then elected to the position of mayor in 1996. Her current term expires in 2012. The councilmembers are: Jerry Jones, who first joined the council in 2002 and was re-elected in Nov. 2010; Mayor Pro Tem Mary England, who was elected in 2000 and whose current term runs until 2012; George Gastil, elected in 2008, whose term also ends in 2012; and Howard Cook who was elected to the council in Nov. 2010. The council terms are four years each, and there are no term limits in the city.
The council meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month, at the Lemon Grove Community Center.