Disputes at City Hall are largely unchanged from recent years.

The prescription for what ails the city hasn’t changed in three years. But officials can’t seem to swallow the pill.

A recent study’s assessment that the city is in critical need of a better working relationship between the mayor and City Council closely mirrors the results of a survey in 2003.

“I didn’t realize the challenge this would be,” said Mayor Darlene Kordonowy, who helmed the city three years ago when tension between her office and the council topped the list of recommended fixes.

Kordonowy and the council are still unsure how to heal relations, but both say closing the wound is a top priority for 2007.

“The community’s feeling the pain,” said Councilman Jim Llewellyn. “The only way to get through this is to set our priorities and stick to them.”

Consultants hired by the city last year to conduct a “benchmarking” study made, as their top “critical recommendation,” a strong case for the council and administration to better define their roles and responsibilities.

With the executive and legislative branches of Bainbridge municipal government clearly staked, the city can dig deep into strategies to improve services, according to the study by Colorado-based CH2M Hill consultants.

The study’s conclusion strongly echoes that of consultant Sandra Davis, who in 2003 highlighted the discord and distrust between the mayor and council.

The ills of city leadership at that time translated into stymied projects and rock-bottom morale among staff. Davis’ survey of 100 city employees and elected officials rated the overall city management as “poor” or “very poor.”

Three-quarters of respondents said relations between the council and mayor’s office were “poor” or “very poor,” while 77 percent characterized relations between staff and the council likewise.

Two thirds labeled the 2003 council a very poor “team player.” About one-third applied the same characterization to the executive team.

The 2003 study signaled a shift after a 1997 assessment showed the greatest tension at City Hall was between staff and city management.

While CH2M Hill’s study didn’t formally survey city workers and officials, their interviews, which were conducted last year, revealed widespread frustration with the lack of cooperation and effective leadership among the executive and legislative.

Recent admonishments of the council by the city administrator, finance director and mayor over the 2007 city budget, staffing levels and other matters also highlights present discord.

“Why are we having the same problems?” asked Kordonowy. “It’s because we have not brought policy makers and the executive together to the same place about who should be doing what.”

Coming to terms about the roles of the council and mayor is the easy part, Llewellyn said.

“That’s well-defined,” he said. “The council sets policy, the mayor executes policy. Coming up with our roles – that’s the easy part. Then we have to stick with them. It’s like smoking. It’s easy to quit. It’s the next day that isn’t easy.”

The council, mayor and city administration will have to “leave the baggage at the door” during a retreat Thursday, Llewellyn said. The benchmarking study’s recommendations and recent breakdowns over the city budget will likely frame the day-long discussion, which begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Bloedel Reserve. The event is open to the public.

“There has to be less wringing of hands and acrimony,” Llewellyn said. “The council has to realize it doesn’t run the city and the council has to (stop) trying to micromanage staff. The mayor has to stop trying to set policy or try to tell the council what to do with the budget.”

Councilman Bill Knobloch, who voted against the council majority on key measures during the 2007 budget process, characterized the council’s recent behavior as “dysfunctional” and driven by “personal agendas.”

“We can’t move any more until we agree on our roles and responsibilities,” he said. “It’s not rocket science. It’s about leadership, and one of the basic principles of leadership is that you give trust and confidence to the people you work with. You empower staff and you hold them accountable. That’s the equation.”

Kordonowy said the pressure on both parties is great.

“The onus is on us,” she said. “We have an organization that can’t perform.”

Llewellyn, who is in his second term, is hopeful about mending relations. He said the council in 2003 was a much more divisive group with clashing personalities often at odds over environmental issues. Llewellyn was elected to the council in 2003 after an earlier term that ended in 2001.

“The council in ‘03 seemed more abrasive and more territorial and there was even some name-calling,” he said. “We don’t have those personal problems on the council now, but there are still turf wars. Now it’s over the budget, and it’s mostly us versus the mayor.”

Kordonowy charged that the council largely abandoned its priorities for improved transportation, public safety and affordable housing in favor of pet projects that cut into basic services, including new police and public works staff.

“We spent half the year coming up with those priorities,” she said. “Then the council spent the last few months deconstructing it. We all need to buy into the overall thread of focus, stick to it and be held accountable.”

Christine Rolfes, who served on the council in 2003, said a new crop of department heads was expected to foment positive change and better relations three years ago.

Around the time of the 2003 study, four top city officials retired or resigned. They were replaced by people considered skilled at administrating as well as negotiating, Rolfes said.

“We believed changes and a reorganization would help with the relationship,” said Rolfes, who now represents Bainbridge and parts of Kitsap County in the state Legislature.

Rolfes cited the additions of City Administrator Mary Jo Briggs, Finance Director Elray Konkel and recently retired planning director Larry Frazier as the balm to ease city aches.

“We used the study’s results as a foundation or a filter for who would be selected,” Rolfes said.

While some new administrators have had their share of conflicts with the council, Kordonowy says their role is crucial.

“We have a strong management team who can deliver and we’re better prepared than ‘03,” the mayor said. “I think we’ve set the table for 2007.”