On April 1, 1963 the governments of the City of Nashville and Davidson County were consolidated into a single "Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County," under which the boundaries of the City of Nashville and Davidson County are coextensive.

The executive and administrative powers are vested in the Mayor, who is elected at large for a four-year term. The Mayor is authorized to administer, supervise and control all departments and to appoint all members of boards and commissions. A two-thirds vote of the legislative body, the Council, is required to override the Mayor's veto. The Charter also provides for a Vice-Mayor, who is elected at large for a four-year term and is the presiding officer of the Council. The Council is composed of 40 members who are elected for four-year terms.

The Charter provides a framework for local government in Nashville to serve the needs of two service districts: (i) the General Services District (the "GSD") and (ii) the Urban Services District (the "USD"). The GSD embraces the entire area of Davidson County and its residents are taxed to support those services, functions and debt obligations which are deemed properly chargeable to the whole population. Such services include general administration, police, fire protection, courts, jails, health, welfare, hospitals, streets and roads, traffic, schools, parks and recreation, airport facilities, auditoriums, public housing, urban renewal, planning and public libraries.

The original USD conformed to the corporate limits of the City of Nashville as they existed on April, 1963, the date of consolidation. USD residents are charged an additional tax to support those services, functions and debt obligations which benefit only the USD. Such services include additional police protection, storm sewers, street lighting and refuse collection. The Charter provides: "The area of the Urban Services District may be expanded and its territorial limits extended by annexation whenever particular areas of the General Services District come to need urban services, and The Metropolitan Government becomes able to provide such service within a reasonable period which shall be no greater than one year after ad valorem taxes in the annexed area become due." Since April 1, 1963 the area of the USD has been expanded from 72 square miles to 152 square miles.

The USD (shaded area) is a subset of the GSD.