The Mayor's responsibilities include the management of the Penang Island City Council's annual budget, which amounted to RM466.3 million in 2025.

In 1966, the functions of the George Town City Council were taken over by the then Chief Minister of Penang, Wong Pow Nee.

[6] To date, the Penang Island City Council has been headed by four successive mayors.

Patahiyah Ismail served as the first female Mayor of Penang Island from 2015 to 2017, when she was succeeded by Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

[7][8] However, Maimunah's tenure lasted for only a year, following her concurrent appointment as the executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres; Maimunah thus became the first Asian to be elected for the role.