By the end of the eighteenth century street lighting had been provided at every street corner and over the doorway of every inn, and water supply had been improved by the sinking of ten new wells and the provision of a great water tank in the market place.

Policing had been improved with the appointment of ten watchmen and attempts were also made to regulate the markets and inspect hazardous food.

The borough boundaries were enlarged on several occasions, notably absorbing Heath Town in 1927, parts of several neighbouring parishes in 1933, and Bilston, Tettenhall and Wednesfield in 1966 (alongside adjustments to the boundaries with several other neighbouring districts).

The vast majority of the later additions had previously been part of the ancient parish of Wolverhampton and the original parliamentary borough (constituency).

[10] Wolverhampton had no further changes made to its boundaries during the 1974 reorganisation of local government, the borough already having a population larger than the 250,000 required for education authorities.

This contrasted with both the Redcliffe-Maud Report, and the initial White Paper for the 1974 reforms[11] which had proposed adding large areas of the present South Staffordshire district to Wolverhampton.

Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the West Midlands Combined Authority; the leader and deputy leader of the council sit on the board of the combined authority as Wolverhampton's representatives.

Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[24][25] The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Wolverhampton.

[42] The coat of arms of Wolverhampton was granted on 31 December 1898, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the council.

The book represents the education within the city, specifically the 16th century Wolverhampton Grammar School;[43] the woolpack represents the mediaeval woollen trade within the city;[43] the column is a representation of the Saxon pillar that can be found within the churchyard of St. Peter's Collegiate Church in the city centre;[43] whilst the keys are representative of the church itself and its dedication to St.