Birmingham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1838 following the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. This gave the town an elected Town Council consisting of 48 coucilers elected from 13 wards. The first mayor wsa William Scholefield with William Redfern acting as Town Clerk. Initally this body only had limited powers and the previous body, the Commissioners of the Streets, remained responcible for lighting, roads, public buildings and the police. Plans to remove this unelected body from local government were soon drawn up though and the Birmingham Improvement Act of 1851 disolved the Commissioners with Town Coucil taking over their properties and powers from January 1852. Following the Local Government Act 1888 Birmingham was again reorganised and it became County Borough. At this time it also recieved city status. This structure remained in place until the local government reorgansiation of 1974.