In this post,Annapolis residents Doug Smith and Bill Kardash answer questions about the city manager issue. Kardash has been a resident of Annapolis for 19 years and is president of a direct marketing firm working with major non-profits. He has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business with a concentration in public administration and finance. He has served as Assistant to the Arlington (VA) County Manager.
Doug Smith first purchased property in Annapolis in 1999, and then moved here in early 2005 from Boston. Doug has an M.S. Degree in engineering and has been a senior executive with F50 companies. Doug has managed four high-tech start up companies. He has served as President of the Ward One Association for 2 years.
Earlier this year, Doug and Bill formed an informal group of residents and business owners under the title of Annapolitans for a Better Community (ABC). As co-chairs, Doug and Bill have done an extensive amount of research on the pros and cons of the Council-Manager structure, including the role of a professional City Manager. Background data was obtained from the ICMA (International City-County Manager Association); all of the reports from previous city manager commissions were reviewed, and over 50 interviews were held with the mayor, all of the aldermen, previous mayors, residents from across Annapolis, downtown business owners, and city managers and mayors from other cities. For this post, we will pose and respond to five questions. We will do this over the next week or two until all 20 questions have been posed and answered:
1. What Changes?
The current structure has a city administrator reporting solely to the mayor. The city administrator is supposed to supervise department heads, however the city administrator has no authority for hiring, firing or compensation. And, it has been the practice of both the mayor and department heads to circumvent the city administrator.
This structural problem needs to be fixed. In the council-manager form, a professional city manager would report to city council (mayor and aldermen) and the city manager would have supervisory responsibility of all department heads. With today’s structure, city employees are quite aware that 99% of the power rests with the mayor, hence they are very careful about voicing any recommendations that would be counter to the views of the mayor.
The second critical piece is the shifting of the day-to-day operational issues to the city manager – who has training in finance, public administration, law, and personnel management. The mayor remains the political leader of the city. The city manager implements the policy decisions as laid out by city council.
2. Why does this give us better government?
This change puts the day-to-day operations with a trained professional. The type of city manager Annapolis would hire would have 10-15 years of experience and probably have managed a city of similar or larger size than Annapolis. We would know in advance the skills and track record of the candidate. Our elected officials are chosen by the voters based on their vision and forward thinking for Annapolis. A candidate for mayor has to have political skills to get elected, but it is unrealistic to expect that the same person would also have expertise in public administration.
3. Why Change Now?
Annapolis has a budget of more than $81 million and an employee population over 530 people, plus a number of consultants. This is a very large, complex organization. Other cities our size have changed to council-manager structure. In fact 63% of cities our size (25,000 to 50,000) use council-manager structure. The city faces a number of challenges today – and there are more to come. The change we are recommending will strengthen city government. We should look for ways to improve how things are managed. No system is perfect, but council-manager structure, with a professionally trained manager is the most widely used format. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of a known improvement?
By the way Annapolis is one of the few remaining cities in Maryland that has not adopted council-manager structure.
4. But Annapolis is special — historic, state capital, home of the Naval Academy.!
All of those things are true, but they have nothing to do with effective management. We also have a lot of things that every other city has to deal with such as road repair, public safety, water systems, sewer systems, traffic congestion, parking problems, budget constraints. These are exactly the kind of problems that a city manager deals every day. In fact, because we are a state capital with many leadership accomplishments, shouldn’t we be a leader in terms of effective management?
5. Is the power of the mayor reduced?
Yes, a portion of the mayor’s power is now shared with the Aldermen. The city council will hire, fire, and monitor the performance of the city manager. It is our view that the position of mayor is actually elevated so the mayor can now put more energy into achieving the vision and platform on which they were elected. The mayor does not need to worry about trash pickup, or sidewalk repair – instead the mayor can now devote more time and energy to a comprehensive parking strategy, an improved traffic plan, a long-term vision for city dock. And even more important – building the relationship with county, state and federal agencies to bring about a regional transportation plan, or funding for economic development.
Please send comments, subscribe, share with your friends, and support our sponsors. Join us at Ahh Coffee! in Eastport almost every Thursday from 8-9 am.
Doug Smith first purchased property in Annapolis in 1999, and then moved here in early 2005 from Boston. Doug has an M.S. Degree in engineering and has been a senior executive with F50 companies. Doug has managed four high-tech start up companies. He has served as President of the Ward One Association for 2 years.
Earlier this year, Doug and Bill formed an informal group of residents and business owners under the title of Annapolitans for a Better Community (ABC). As co-chairs, Doug and Bill have done an extensive amount of research on the pros and cons of the Council-Manager structure, including the role of a professional City Manager. Background data was obtained from the ICMA (International City-County Manager Association); all of the reports from previous city manager commissions were reviewed, and over 50 interviews were held with the mayor, all of the aldermen, previous mayors, residents from across Annapolis, downtown business owners, and city managers and mayors from other cities. For this post, we will pose and respond to five questions. We will do this over the next week or two until all 20 questions have been posed and answered:
1. What Changes?
The current structure has a city administrator reporting solely to the mayor. The city administrator is supposed to supervise department heads, however the city administrator has no authority for hiring, firing or compensation. And, it has been the practice of both the mayor and department heads to circumvent the city administrator.
This structural problem needs to be fixed. In the council-manager form, a professional city manager would report to city council (mayor and aldermen) and the city manager would have supervisory responsibility of all department heads. With today’s structure, city employees are quite aware that 99% of the power rests with the mayor, hence they are very careful about voicing any recommendations that would be counter to the views of the mayor.
The second critical piece is the shifting of the day-to-day operational issues to the city manager – who has training in finance, public administration, law, and personnel management. The mayor remains the political leader of the city. The city manager implements the policy decisions as laid out by city council.
2. Why does this give us better government?
This change puts the day-to-day operations with a trained professional. The type of city manager Annapolis would hire would have 10-15 years of experience and probably have managed a city of similar or larger size than Annapolis. We would know in advance the skills and track record of the candidate. Our elected officials are chosen by the voters based on their vision and forward thinking for Annapolis. A candidate for mayor has to have political skills to get elected, but it is unrealistic to expect that the same person would also have expertise in public administration.
3. Why Change Now?
Annapolis has a budget of more than $81 million and an employee population over 530 people, plus a number of consultants. This is a very large, complex organization. Other cities our size have changed to council-manager structure. In fact 63% of cities our size (25,000 to 50,000) use council-manager structure. The city faces a number of challenges today – and there are more to come. The change we are recommending will strengthen city government. We should look for ways to improve how things are managed. No system is perfect, but council-manager structure, with a professionally trained manager is the most widely used format. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of a known improvement?
By the way Annapolis is one of the few remaining cities in Maryland that has not adopted council-manager structure.
4. But Annapolis is special — historic, state capital, home of the Naval Academy.!
All of those things are true, but they have nothing to do with effective management. We also have a lot of things that every other city has to deal with such as road repair, public safety, water systems, sewer systems, traffic congestion, parking problems, budget constraints. These are exactly the kind of problems that a city manager deals every day. In fact, because we are a state capital with many leadership accomplishments, shouldn’t we be a leader in terms of effective management?
5. Is the power of the mayor reduced?
Yes, a portion of the mayor’s power is now shared with the Aldermen. The city council will hire, fire, and monitor the performance of the city manager. It is our view that the position of mayor is actually elevated so the mayor can now put more energy into achieving the vision and platform on which they were elected. The mayor does not need to worry about trash pickup, or sidewalk repair – instead the mayor can now devote more time and energy to a comprehensive parking strategy, an improved traffic plan, a long-term vision for city dock. And even more important – building the relationship with county, state and federal agencies to bring about a regional transportation plan, or funding for economic development.
Please send comments, subscribe, share with your friends, and support our sponsors. Join us at Ahh Coffee! in Eastport almost every Thursday from 8-9 am.
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