This Act consisting of 140 articles aims at providing for the organization of Municipalities, their creations and functions. The Act is divided into IV Titles. Title I regards definition of Municipalities and their creation under the responsibility of the Ministry and Interior which also acts as coordination body between the technical, security, military bodies and the private engineering offices. Title II concerns the Municipal Body consisting of a decision-making authority (the Municipal Council) and an Executive Authority (Title III). The main competencies of the Municipal Council are provided in articles 49-51 including among many other things public schools, popular residences, toilets, public hospitals and other health establishments, traffic and public transportation, and measures related to public emergency. Title III on the Executive Authority establishes that (i) it shall vest in the President of the Municipal Council, and in Beirut municipality it shall vest in the Governor; (ii) its main competencies, provided for in article 74 regard, among many others: (a) public health, safety and security, (b) ensuring the health control of all the places in which food or beverages are manufactured and sold; (c) taking measures to fight against alcoholism, epidemic or infectious diseases, and animal diseases; (d) granting construction permits, housing permits, certificates of completion for the routing of water, electricity and telephone, (e) authorizing the excavation of public streets in order to lay water, electricity, telephone and wastewater pipes and others, (f) taking the appropriate measures to ensure the purity and safety of the food materials to be sold, (g) controlling the selling and pricing of food products, provided that it shall not be in contradiction with the measures and decisions issued by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, (h) protecting all that relates to the environment, landscapes and monuments, maintaining trees and forested areas as well as preventing pollution. Article 136 states that the municipalities shall be entitled to use the municipal public properties in order to execute their public projects, carry out excavation and installation works for lighting, sewers and water projects. However, the municipality shall not be entitled, in any case whatsoever, to exercise its power outside its municipal area or to collect fees from another municipality or from the tax payers related to the said municipality.
Article 86 establishes that the municipal finances consist of the following (i) fees collected directly by tax payers; (ii) fees collected by the State; (iii) fees collected by the State on behalf of all municipalities; (iv) financial aids and loans; (v) revenues of municipal properties; (v) fines; and (vi) donations and wills.