Since I began working to adopt council-manager form of government, I continue to learn compelling reasons to vote for this change. I doubt there is one person on this island who thinks that city government is working, even among proponents of the mayor-council form.
We have a flawed form of government for a city of our size, and it just plain doesn’t work. The flaw is in the lack of accountability.
That derives from the state statutes for the strong-mayor form that accords all executive power to the mayor and no power, other than budgetary and appointment review, to the council.
Whiles strong-mayor works well in very large cities where the council has its own staff, or in smaller cities where the management demands do not call for more experienced individuals, it clearly has drawbacks on our island.
We have outgrown the small city utility of the strong-mayor form, and we are not large enough to afford staff support for the council. A change in structure will allow us to take advantage of the deep reservoir of skills, resources, and commitment in the community.
We will be hard pressed to recognize our rock in the future if we allow this to continue. Most of us moved here because we thought it was a special place with a way of life we valued.
These qualities are now threatened. We are in debt. Our roads are a mess. We mandated the purchase and preservation of open space and the discussion is now on the table about which pieces will be sold. Funding for the arts, which in their myriad forms together weave the unique fiber of our community, have been cut. Affordable housing is a dream. City hall is borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
The list of problems goes on. Argument and blame rather than collaboration is most often the scenario at City Hall.
What a mess! Now is the time to mend our community and adopt a form of government that by its very nature demands collaboration – with a professional sworn to high standards of ethical excellence – to manage the 124 employees and the $50 million dollar budget. Under council-manager, the city manager reports directly to the council and the community in public.
There is no one who is running or “thinking” about running for mayor that I consider professionally qualified to manage this city.
And, to the doubters, I say when our council has a chance to work within a proven, effective structure they will rise to the occasion and choose collaboration over dispute and insightful long-term strategy over short-term fixes.
We need to heal our discord, find harmony without politics, and move forward to save our community.
Linda Owens, member
VOTE Council-Manager ’09 campaign
