My gemeinde has these two. What's the difference in what they do?
Legislative versus Executive.
This seems to give a good explanation:
And of course, depending on C/Kanton too. In Romandie, but not always, Conseil Général and Conseil Communal.
They are (but not of each other) - I meant to write Bürgerrat, Gemeinderat. The legislative are, in my community, the Bürgergemeindervesammlung and the Einwohnerrat respectively.
Ah yes. The Bürgerrat grant citizenship, administer the citizens' property, manage and maintain the forests and promote cultural life. Some communities hand this responsibility to the Einwohnerrat. The Einwohnerrat are effectively the town council responsible for everything else.
Though Bürgerrats are nice on a bun with ketchup.