Yeah. A small government is good, in terms of speedy decision making and lower upkeep.
Speaking of which:
This is functionally identical to my previous proposal, but more exhaustive and easier to read/understand (I hope).
I'm also leaving out the "districts" nonsense as well, because that's only relevant in the long term, and by then the government could just as easily overrule it anyway.
The Chancellor is the highest executive power in the Twelfth Bay.
Their responsibilities include breaking ties on Council votes, dealing with foreign affairs (trade, diplomacy), and making decisions in lieu of the Council when there is no time for a vote (read: emergencies).
Their rights include the ability to criminalise an action that previously would not have been considered illegal. This is basically a catch-all to prevent "victimless" crimes that would not involve a dispute to bring to the Council, and make sure no-one starts whining and saying "but technically, I did nothing wrong!"
Next is the ability to declare a section of land, no matter who owns it, as property of the government of the Twelfth Bay. This is intended to be used on both a small and international scale, for things like settlement expansion, mining, building roads, farms, and so on.
Finally, the ability to assign any person or persons a task that should be completed within a given timeframe. The Chancellor may also decide to reward the person/s with diamonds drawn from the treasury, for example.
Any decision the Chancellor makes can be challenged by either the Mayor or at least two Councillors. This will put the decision up to a Council vote, so changes can be retroactively undone.
The Chancellor is given the honorific "The Right Honourable Chancellor [name] of the Twelfth Bay", and a diamond ceremonial axe.
The Mayor is the second-highest executive power in the Twelfth Bay, inheriting the rights and responsibilities of the Chancellor in their absence. They hold a seat on the Council.
Otherwise, their rights and responsibilities are the same as the other Councillors.
The Mayor can also call for an early election to be held.
The Mayor is given the honorific "His/Her Honour Mayor [name]", and a golden ceremonial axe.
The Council represents the legislative and judicial powers of the Twelfth Bay. In the event that neither the Mayor nor the Chancellor is available, the Council inherits the executive powers also. Each Councillor has a seat on the Council, of course.
The Council has a number of seats equal to one-fifth of the civilisation's active population, rounded up to the nearest even number, with a minimum of four. One of these seats is held by the Mayor.
Their responsibilities:
Settling disputes. Because this is kind of complicated, I'll detail the process later.
Fortress planning and zoning. The Council decides what areas of land are available for purchase by residents, building shops, making roads, decorations, and so on.
Maintaining the Treasury. The Council is in charge of maintaining and protecting a sum of diamonds, pearls, and other resources to fund any state projects, pay bounties, and so on.
Organising state projects. With anything that needs doing on state-owned land, the Council decides who should do it and how much they should be paid, drawn from the treasury.
The Council has the right to retire a member of the Fortress Guard, including the Captain, and temporarily confiscate their weapons and armour, in the event that guardsman is deemed a danger to the Twelfth Bay, or is otherwise unsuitable for the position.
Two Councillors in agreement can call for an early election to be held.
Councillors are given the honorific "Councillor [name]", and a golden ceremonial axe.
The Fortress Guard, headed by the Captain of the Guard, is an independent force tasked with protecting the citizens of the Twelfth Bay.
The Captain is given absolute authority over the other guardsmen, and is expected to guide them to the most effective ways of defending the civilians.
Membership is entirely voluntary, with the Captain having the right to decline a volunteer if they are deemed unsuitable.
On the last day of each month, an election is held, for guardsmen to vote for the next Captain. A vote may be held early if the Captain is retired by the Council.
Guardsmen are given the honorific "Guardsman/woman [name]", and an iron ceremonial axe.
The Captain of the Guard is given the honorific "Captain [name]", and an iron ceremonial axe.
If a member of the Twelfth Bay has a dispute with another member, they are to report to a Council member (formally or informally) the following information:
- The name or names of the people with whom the dispute occurred
- The action or actions those people took that should be punished, with evidence such as snitch logs
- The punishment that they believe to be appropriate, including any reparations or fines to be paid
- Whether or not they desire a trial[/i]
The Council member concerned will present that information to the Council. A different member will visit the accused party to hear their side of the story, and whether or not they desire a trial.
If either side requests a trial, the Council will meet to discuss a time and date for both parties to meet, along with all Council members, for a public discussion of the issue. The Council will decide on the punishment for the accused party, and any reparations they must pay.
If not all Council members are able to meet within a timely manner, the remaining Council members will call upon other civilians to act as de facto Councillors for the purpose of the trial.
If neither side requests a trial, the Council will decide on the punishment for the accused party, and any reparations they must pay, without the input of either side.
On the last day of every second month, every member of the Twelfth Bay who privately owns property within the civilisation's borders is granted one vote. They may cast this vote on any active member of the Twelfth Bay who privately owns property within the civilisation's borders, including themselves.
Once the votes are tallied, positions are distributed as follows:
Chancellor, to the recipient of the highest number of votes.
Mayor, to the recipient of the second-highest number of votes.
Councillor, to the recipients of the next-highest numbers of votes, up to a number of people equal to the number of seats on the Council minus the Mayor.
In the event of a tie, each of the tied individuals is given the chance to back down and reduce their effective number of votes by one.
If no-one backs down, the tied individuals will fight to the death in the arena, and the loser will have their effective number of votes reduced by one.
Once an individual has had their effective number of votes reduced, it cannot happen again for that election.