 Today , Haifa is governed by its 12th city council , headed by the mayor <unk> <unk> . The results of municipal elections decide on the makeup of the council , similarly to the <unk> elections . The city council is the legislative council in the city , and has the authority to pass auxiliary laws . The 12th council , which was elected in 2003 , has 31 members , with the liberal <unk> @-@ Greens ticket holding the most seats ( 6 ) , and <unk> coming second with 5 . Many of the decisions passed by the city council are results of recommendation made by the various municipal committees , which are committees where non @-@ municipal organs meet with representatives from the city council . Some committees are spontaneous , but some are mandatory , such as the security committee , tender committee and financial committee . 
