Note - you will find the most web-sites on
this issue if you search on "strong mayor."
Highlights and boldface
added by BFG.
Austin,
Texas, and Phoenix judged best-run cities
-Naples,
Florida
News -
Monday, January 31, 2000 - By PAUL SHEPARD, Associated Press - [excerpts]
WASHINGTON - With robust finances and well-trained public work forces,
Austin, Texas, and Phoenix are the best-managed major American cities, according
to an analysis by Syracuse University.
The study rated the municipal governments of the nation's 35 largest cities
in terms of revenues, assigning grades from A to F on five management criteria:
finances, human resources, capital, information technology and results.
A common factor in cities that scored
well was strong leadership, said Patricia W. Ingraham, director of the
Government Performance Project at Syracuse's Maxwell School of Citizenship and
Public Affairs. The project was financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
"Where there is a strong mayor,
there is a well-run city, which attracts residents and visitors,"
Ingraham said. "Contrary to what
many of us think, the days of mediocre city management are coming to an
end."
Stronger-mayor'
here could set standard
-04-04-99 -
BY
ANNE MICHAUD - The Cincinnati Enquirer - [ excerpts] - Council-manager government is
becoming more popular, but even so, accompanying frustrations are growing.
“Councils are more fragmented.
They have difficulty coming to agreement and developing long-term strategies for
the city,” said James Svara, head of the political science department at North
Carolina State University. He recently published a survey of the largest 31
council-manager governments.
Business people typically respond
to stronger mayors because the executive powers have their parallel in corporate
offices.
Charlotte has found that to be
true, said former mayor Richard Vinroot. A so-called “gazelle” city that has
leaped ahead in prosperity, Charlotte reformed the mayor's office in 1981.
Strong-mayor
Leadership In Spokane:
Its Impact On Business & Commerce
- [very good site on this issue - tried to be unbiased]
- “[People]
recognize the need for strong elected leadership. You can't run a city by
committee,” (Johnson) and with those words political activist Steven K.
Eugster echoed his reasons for support of a strong-mayor form of government in
Spokane, Washington. On November 2, 1999 the voters of Spokane approved an
initiative (drafted by Eugster) to change their city government from a city
manager form of executive control (council-manager), to a strong-mayor form.
What exactly does the strong-mayor form of government mean to business and what
is its impact?
Stafford
operates under a Mayor-Alderman form of Government. It is a
strong Mayor system with no City Manager.
Department Directors report
directly to the Mayor and Council. The City is run prudently and has an
A
bond ratings. The City prides itself on its outstanding record of fiscal
responsibility over the past quarter century, which is one of the main reasons
the City eliminated the property tax in
1995. There is a full time
police department and a compensated fire department.
Charterites
back 'strong-mayor' reform BY
HOWARD WILKINSON -
The Cincinnati Enquirer 2-24-99 Cincinnati's Charter Committee, after
more than 70 years of defending the council-manager form of government it helped
to create, has signed on to a reform plan that would radically change the way
Cincinnati is governed.
Schenectady
has had a Mayor since it was chartered in 1798. The legislative body
was known as the Board of Aldermen, with each member representing a city ward,
until 1935 when a Plan C or Charter form of government was adopted. Under this
plan, the Council was composed of a Mayor and six Council members, all elected
at large. The administrative head of the city was the City Manager, appointed by
City Council. Ten City Managers served the city between 1935 and 1980 when, as
result of a referendum, the form
of government changed to City Council/strong Mayor.
The administrative head of the city is now the elected Mayor. The City Council
is composed of seven members who are elected at large with staggered terms.
"Strong"
Mayor? 13 Oct 1998 - Oakland, CA is about to change from a
council-manager form of government to a system where the mayor is the chief
executive, with the city manager reporting to him. The mayor wouldn't be able to
hire and fire the library director, that would stay with the city manager, but
the goal is to make the mayor more accountable for delivery of services, so we
can expect more mayoral involvement in library affairs.
Miami
voters OK strong-mayor proposal 11/02/99- MIAMI (AP) - Voters on Tuesday
approved a controversial strong-mayor referendum that will eliminate the
city manager's job and calls for a special election in March.
Has The Time
Come For Sacramento To Empower Its Next Mayor?
By Jock
O'Connell -This is the text of an article that was published in the January
2000 edition of Comstock's Business magazine.
http://graham.sannet.gov/city-manager/biography.shtml
- The City Manager is appointed by the Mayor and City Council and manages the
daily activities of the City of San Diego and carries out the policy direction
of the Mayor and Council.
The
City of Lima is a charter municipality (1932) with a strong mayor
form of government.
Measure
X Victory for Jerry Brown -
Strong-mayor initiative OKd by Oakland voters 11-04-98
The
City of Topeka has operated under the Strong Mayor-City Council-Chief
Strong
mayor a race for quality - May 7, 1999 -Cincinnatians
voted, 53 percent to 47 percent, to elect their mayor directly for the first
time in more than 70 years.
Strong
mayor goal for 1999
- January
1, 1999 - As we enter the
new year and edge closer to the next millennium, it's time for Cincinnati to
take steps to ensure that it doesn't fall behind the curve.
The
City Manager
Experience in the U.S.: Perspectives on Improving Local Government in
LAC. - by Tim Campbell and Travis Katz
- 1995 - [excerpts] The purpose of this note is not to
compare the patterns of growth nor management solutions in the U.S. and
LAC. Rather, the goal is to present comparable experiences as a vehicle
to discuss issues and tradeoffs of different forms of municipal
management.
Council-Manager
form (1911)... separates political and administrative
functions through the employment of a professional city manager, hired
by and accountable to the city council. Proponents trumpet efficiency,
critics want more participation. Little concrete data is available to
evaluate rigorously the Council-Manager experience, even though it is
widely used in the U.S.
COUNCILOR
WOULD REPLACE MANAGER THE SOUTH PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL WILL STUDY A
PROPOSAL TO REPLACE THE CITY MANAGER WITH AN ELECTED MAYOR. - Portland Press Herald
- 01/16/1996 - The proposal to establish an
elected-mayor form of government was made Monday night by Councilor
Kevin Glynn, who surprised fellow councilors with the idea. ... What a grand idea!" An elected mayor, Glynn said, would
be more sensitive to the will of the city's residents than an appointed
city manager. The city could spend the next year studying how much power
a mayor should have and whether South Portland should continue to have a
manager along with a mayor, Glynn said.
Atherton's
embattled city manager resigns in a negotiated settlement -
September
15, 1999 - By ANNE H. KIM - In a special marathon session held
last Saturday, September 11, the Atherton City Council approved the negotiated
resignation of embattled City Manager Don
Guluzzy, whose management of the town
in recent times has led to increasing criticism by town residents. [Mayors
get voted out without being paid to leave as city managers do...]
Former
city manager sues Brewer Parks claims wrongful termination in federal
suit - Bangor Daily News Bangor, ME - 10/14/1998
- BREWER -- Former Brewer City Manager
Harold Parks, fired two years ago this month, has filed a suit in
federal court against the city of Brewer and several of the its elected
officials claiming he was wrongfully terminated. [Mayors
can't sue for "wrongful termination."]
Changes
in City Manager Selection Process Sought - Albuquerque Journal - 02/14/2001 The Santa Fe County Chamber of
Commerce, citing a "perilous financial condition" in city
government, is calling for changes in how Santa Fe chooses its city
manager.
Ex-city
manager backs vote on strong mayor - By KAREN BRANCH
Herald Staff Writer - September 22, 1999, in the Miami Herald - ``If
someone likes or doesn't like a candidate, that's democracy, Garcia-Pedrosa told
drive-time listeners of WWFE-La Poderosa's Cross-fire show.
Has
The Time Come For Sacramento To Empower Its Next Mayor?
By
Jock O'Connell
2001
