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S. Smith Moderator
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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 Member
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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 Member 
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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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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 Member 
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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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Steve Adkins Member 
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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 Moderator
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Do you see any downsides to this type of government? |
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SaltyDog Member 
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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 Member
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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 Banned
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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 Member 
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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 Member 
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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 Member
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opps Last edited on Feb 27th, 2007 05:41 pm by StewartM |
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StewartM Member
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Anybody have any "cons" Last edited on Feb 27th, 2007 05:44 pm by StewartM |
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FatPappy Member
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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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Jim Flynt Member
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While advocating for all of this positive change, why doesn't someone start advocating for giving your Mayor a vote? Surely the Mayor of Summerfield should have some power other than influence and be allowed something more than sitting as a knot on a log or simply attending ribbon cutting cremonies. The current system in Summerfield makes your Mayor the least powerful member of a board where he should at least share equally in power. And anticipating the argument against, this change should be made even if such a change requires having to expand your council by one extra member. Last edited on Feb 27th, 2007 11:38 pm by Jim Flynt |
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S. Smith Moderator
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Jim Flynt wrote: While advocating for all of this positive change, why doesn't someone start advocating for giving your Mayor a vote? Surely the Mayor of Summerfield should have some power other than influence and be allowed something more than sitting as a knot on a log or simply attending ribbon cutting cremonies.Well, that's definitely a point, Jim. I agree with you that the mayor should share equally in the power, instead of being a mere figurehead. But having an even number on the Summerfield council never seemed to be much of an issue. In several years, I could only recall one or two times when there was a tie vote, although that could be something that might come up more frequently in the future (depending on the opinions and personalities involved). |
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SaltyDog Member
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Wasn't the demand to take the vote away from the mayor initiated by the CC's. |
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DOGGETTJA Member 
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Actually it was Dwayne Crawford who started the petition to remove the mayor's vote before he was part of the CC's. |
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Jim Flynt Member
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DOGGETTJA wrote: Actually it was Dwayne Crawford who started the petition to remove the mayor's vote before he was part of the CC's. Jane, Thanks for that history. What was the reasoning behind such a change? |
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DOGGETTJA Member
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To stop the sitting mayor from voting. Dwayne thought if he got the number of names required on the petition to get the item on the ballot that the mayor would lose the right to vote at the time that he presented the petition. Of course what actually happens is the change comes at the next council election. |
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FatPappy Member
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The boy just cain't seem to get it right. |
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Jim Flynt Member
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FatPappy wrote: The boy just cain't seem to get it right. If the council member were an African American, I wonder if the Northwest Observer wouldn't instantly 'censor' or Edit your comment above? (Let us hope that maybe one day in the very near future, we will have an African American member of one of our NW town councils so we can find out). The comment reflects an attitude of colonialism if not paternalism and one I had hoped would be relegated to the history books. But as a supporter of Free Speech, I support your right to make whatever statements you feel necessary to elevate the discourse and help tone down the bilateral bickering and name calling back and forth. Last edited on Mar 11th, 2007 02:34 pm by Jim Flynt |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member 
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Jim Flynt wrote:(Let us hope that maybe one day in the very near future, we will have an African American member of one of our NW town councils so we can find out). Just had to point out, Jim, that the Town of Stokesdale has already had an African-American represent the town on its Council. This is from the statute to incorporate Stokesdale in 1989. Sec. 3.3. From the effective date of this Charter until the organizational meeting of the Town Council after the 1991 municipal election, the members of the Town Council shall be Clifton Hill, Powell M. Shelton, Sr., A.B. Fulp, Jesse Joyce, and Larry Williams. |
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Jim Flynt Member
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Vicki White-Lawrence wrote: Jim Flynt wrote: Vicki, Thanks for reminding me and refreshing my memory. You are so correct. I knew Clifton Hill and thought the world of him both as a man and as a Stokesdale Town Council member. Unfortunately, a majority of Stokesdale voters did not share my sentiments when Cliff was not elected in the very first Stokesdale Town election. (As you point out, he was initially appointed to this position rather than elected). Not in a million years would I ever have dreamed of addressing a great man of Clifton Hill's statuture or race by the word BOY. And I personally don't feel it is appropriate in addressing other adults as such either. Whether we like them or not. Last edited on Mar 11th, 2007 03:08 pm by Jim Flynt |
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FatPappy Member
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Jim, I reckon that was mighty thoughtful o' you fer tryin' to supply me with a racist motive when you saw I didn't have one, but you can keep it. I don't need to denigrate any racial or ethnic group to make a point. You, on t'other hand, don't seem to mind degradin' all African-Americans by shamelessly usin' 'em fer nuthin' more than stage props to dress up your little drama. That's a insensitive racist thang to do. How dare you? Dwayne Crawford has displayed immature judgement an' a vindictive childishness in his actions as a town council member. Thus the term "boy". I'm gonna quit arguin' with you if you cain't stick to the point an' leave innocent bystanders out of it. |
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Steve Adkins Member
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DOGGETTJA wrote: To stop the sitting mayor from voting. Dwayne thought if he got the number of names required on the petition to get the item on the ballot that the mayor would lose the right to vote at the time that he presented the petition. Of course what actually happens is the change comes at the next council election. let's get back to the topic regarding System of Government change please |
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