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S. Smith
Moderator
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Posted: Feb 22nd, 2007 05:29 pm |
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| At this stage in its development, should the Town of Summerfield change from a mayor-council form of government to a council-manager system? If the change is made, the council would make policy decisions, then turn the day-to-day issues of running the town over to a town manager. Why do you think the change should or shouldn't be made?
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Hairbrush
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Posted: Feb 22nd, 2007 06:15 pm |
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I think that the council manager form of government will make everything more stream lined. The council will still be responsible for setting policies and the budget and is the legislative body while the manager is responsible for the day to day running of the town. It makes sense to me to have someone be in charge of the day to running of the town that understands how to run a town. We have some great council members and but I don't know what kind of administrative skill they had when they came to office. I would think they had to learn the ropes. With a manager it seems the town would not have to wait out the learning curve. Also the council could concentrate on policy issues and long range plans. They could be visionaries. The manager still is hired and fired by the council so if they want to keep their job they would have to make sure they were following the policies and procedures set up by the council.
I would hope also that by having a manager maybe we can keep some staff. I would think having to come to work and not knowing what I might have to do for that day, because the council could at anytime ask me to do something, would be very unnerving. We have a great town and would like to see us find and keep some great staff.
There is a great question and answer paper on the icma.org website that I think does a great job explaining what happens in this form of government. If you go the bottom of the home page you will see a spot that says resource center browse by topic. Click on the arrow and select council manager type of government and under the heading reports and articles you will see an article called "Council Manager form of government: answers to your questions". Click on it and it will take you to the article. There are lots of other neat stuff on that page also. You can also go to the http://www.friendsforsummerfield.com webpage and hit the hot topics and it will give information on this topic as well as take you to the article I was mentioning.
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Cracker Jax
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Posted: Feb 22nd, 2007 06:46 pm |
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I've been doing a lot of reading on this subject in the past couple of weeks and seemingly, the council/manager form of government is the logical way to go. Someone asked at an FFS meeting what the "cons" were to this type of government and so far I haven't found any.
By allowing the council to "micro-manage" every detail of the town's day to day operation, we are getting further and further behind and bogged down in the muck and mire of personal agendas and grandstanding tactics.
I would be very interested in hearing the council's discussion on the topic before making up my mind 100%. If there are negatives (real or perceived - valid or ridiculous), I know they will come up in council discussion. 
Hairbrush mentioned visionaries. One of the problems I see with the current council is that there are only a few visionaries left sitting up there. Only a few of them who really are looking down the road a couple of years instead of stressing over who's turned in what paperwork, who's ordered who to do something, and who's spending their precious dime right this second.
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S. Smith
Moderator
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Posted: Feb 22nd, 2007 07:28 pm |
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From what I can see, this is an issue that is primarily related to growth. When a town first incorporates, most wouldn't have the need for a town manager. At that point, everybody other than maybe the town clerk (and sometimes even the person in that position) is a volunteer. As the town grows, begins to offer services, tax its residents, get employees, etc., it becomes harder to depend on volunteers to do everything.
Just as when people start a business, often their spouse, kids and friends volunteer to help out. As the business grows, it becomes less and less plausible to do that and you have to hire somebody to do those jobs. Of course, it has to be someone you can trust to do those jobs and do them correctly.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Feb 22nd, 2007 08:53 pm |
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Pappy's done some readin' up on it. Makes sense to me so far. It ain't like this is a new an' untested theory. It's been around enough years an' been through enough practical tests to prove its worth.
Seems like a lot o' duplication o' effort under the system we got now.
Pappy'll be interested to hear what the council says about it. I appreciate the FFS bringin' it to our attention.
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
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Steve Adkins
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Posted: Feb 22nd, 2007 09:47 pm |
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Council Manager government will untie the hands of the Manager, and let him or her do their job and address the needs of the town in a timely manner. Current methods result in decisions being delayed in 30 day buckets, often repeated buckets.
Most employees in industry expect to be told the envelopes of their job responsibilities, empowered to do their jobs, know where the boundaries are, and don't want to be micro-managed. It works in industry, why should it not work in government?
Maybe Mike Stewart can comment about Mayodan, the town of 2,400 people, that already operates under a Council Manager system.
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S. Smith
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Posted: Feb 23rd, 2007 01:01 pm |
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| Do you see any downsides to this type of government?
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SaltyDog
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Posted: Feb 23rd, 2007 01:34 pm |
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As I see it the biggest potential "Con" of council-manager system is not hiring the right manager. On the "Pro" side I think it is much more effective and efficient to have a professional town manager who's full-time job is to manage the day-to-day details of running the town and implementing the directives of the town council.
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Steve Adkins
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Posted: Feb 23rd, 2007 03:32 pm |
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Agree totally with SaltyDog.
Summerfield is blessed with a very professional Administrator at this time, highly communicative, and thinks things thru to the benefit of the town.
However, if the wrong person were in the job, it could and would have a negative impact on the town. Is this any different than anywhere else in public or private sector? No, a bad hire is bad news regardless of the situation. It is paramount the TC do a good job screening for the right person in the job.
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summerfieldrd
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Posted: Feb 23rd, 2007 06:18 pm |
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| I think Summerfield has alot of issues (i.e. water) that needs to be addressed. I feel the new form of government will help us resolve issues much faster, as opposed to taking years. As far as we can see, what we are doing is NOT working. It's time for a change. As they say, "The only constant in the universe is change." Maybe we can navigate this quagmire and get back on solid ground.
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Baseball Buddy
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 01:46 am |
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The current form of Government in Summerfield is often referred to as "SLOW Government". It is for small starter towns with small population. During the beginning stages after the incorporation of Summerfield this worked fine. Now (this means present time) we need a change to "EFFICIENT Government". Unless we have some people who care to micro manage everything or power hungry people who want to be in control of the world, this change needs to take place.
Michael is a very capable and caring person who will always do what is best for Summerfield. He has that VISION. He is able to look towards tomorrow and there after. That's the man for the job.
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StewartM
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Posted: Feb 27th, 2007 05:39 pm |
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SaltyDog wrote: As I see it the biggest potential "Con" of council-manager system is not hiring the right manager. On the "Pro" side I think it is much more effective and efficient to have a professional town manager who's full-time job is to manage the day-to-day details of running the town and implementing the directives of the town council.
Amen Saltydog.......I talk with the Manager in Mayodan, she said it works very well, more efficient and turnover is very low.....it cost the town a lot of money to train employees, this gives them one boss not six to deal with.......as always you must have good communication with your council....The council has looked at this in the past, I think its time switch.....
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StewartM
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Posted: Feb 27th, 2007 05:39 pm |
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| opps Last edited on Feb 27th, 2007 05:41 pm by StewartM
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StewartM
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Posted: Feb 27th, 2007 05:40 pm |
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Anybody have any "cons" Last edited on Feb 27th, 2007 05:44 pm by StewartM
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FatPappy
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Posted: Feb 27th, 2007 09:31 pm |
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| If this change occurs, an' I hope it does, the town charter will need to be changed. Some might see that as a con. We changed the charter most recently when the method of electin' the mayor changed, so I don't see why it should be any bigger deal this time.
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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