Falkirk Town Council was established in 1833 following the Burgh Reform Act of 1833 which created parliamentary burghs and gave the new parliamentary burghs the right to elect town councils and to elect a member of parliament. The Falkirk Police and Improvement Act, 1859 abolished the Stentmasters and transferred all their powers to the Town Council, turning the parliamentary burgh into a police burgh. The Town Council was abolished in 1974 following the Local Government (Scotland) etc Act, 1973, and its powers transferred to Falkirk District Council