In addition to leading AWC, Mr. Finkelstein teaches public administration courses at Seattle University. It was clear he strongly supported this change in form of government. Most of the audience was the usual crowd (and already decided on the issue).
His presentation read like the "pro-manager" brochure that is getting hand delivered around town, so I won't repeat the arguments here. Of interest to me, he did confirm there is only 1 other town our size (of 700) in the state with a city manager. There are only 7 municipalities under 1500 that have this form of government.
The strong mayor-council (like Ruston now has) is predominate in Washington, especially since most cities have a population of less than 5,000. About one-third of all cities have a manager or administrator. He did not like the idea of an administrator, which he felt was beholden to only the mayor rather than a larger group such as the council majority (in Ruston's case, 3 people).
He noted that it is unusual for a town this size to have professional staff, but we are facing unusual circumstances with our current development needs. He did admit that this change would be permanent, unless we voted again to switch back to the mayor-council format later once the development is done in a few years. He still felt a manager would be best even after Ruston was built out.
He also confirmed that although the passage of this measure would entail electing a full slate of new council members, that would not occur until November 2009, when the majority of the council members and the mayor are up for election anyway. He felt the transition to this new form of government (if approved) would take about a year.
I've shared what I found interesting from the meeting tonight. This is a complex issue that will have big implications on the character and sustainability of our future. I encourage everyone to research this issue carefully and make an informed vote on August 19th. If you want a copy of the audio from tonight's meeting, I'm happy to provide a copy. ~ Karen
1 comment:
If we hire a manager for $100,000, that must mean the rest of the employees will get the going rate too.
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