Actually, Boroughs do have Mayors. They are elected by the general population of voters and serve as moderator for the Borough Council and cast deciding votes, when necessary. In our borough, the Mayor also serves as the head of the Police Department, is a part-time Borough employee paid a certain stipend for attending monthly Council meetings. We also have a Borough Manager who takes care of the day to day business of running the borough. Most other boroughs in this area are run in a similar fashion. See the definition of 'burgess' below. CJ AOL's dictionary gives the following definition: bur*gess (noun) (Middle English burgeis, from Old French borjois, from borc) First appeared 13th Century 1 a: a citizen of a British borough b: a representative of a borough, corporate town, or university in the British Parliament. 2 : a representative in the popular branch of the legislature of colonial Maryland and Virginia.