Agenda - Charter Commission - 01/20/2005

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CONSIDER CITY MA2 CASE lAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT By: James E. Norman, City Administrator and William K. Goodrich, City-Attorney Background: Cotmnissioner Darlene Milless has requested this item be.placed on the Commission's agenda.' In reviewing past Charter Commission minutes, Commissioner Milless noted that the Charter Commission considered City Manager form of Government during meetings held in 1998 and 1999. Commissioner Milless suggested the Commission return to the consideration of the matter. The Charter Commission did discuss the CCy Manager form of Government in 1998 and 1999. The item was proposed by then Commission Susan Anderson. It was reported by the City Administrator in January of 1999 that a survey of 2i cOmparably based sized cities in the northwest quadrant of the metropolitan area found five cities: with administral~or form of government and 16 cities with the City Manager form of Government. An explanation was made to the Charter Commission in 1999 regarding the differences between a City Administrator and City Manager form of Government. Staff has provided a League of Mi!mesOta Cities research that provides a 'description of the differences as revised in Augusl~ 2000. staff.has attached thc City Administrator and City Manger portion of the memorandum to this case. The differences between the City Administrator and City Manager can be found in the attached description. A City Administrator position is not required by state statute, but has been created by ordinance or resolution by the City. The history of the City Administrator position is less defined then the history of either the City Clerk or Manager positions. In Minnesota, the position has apparently grown out of the City Clerk position. As the City's operations grow in complexity, it became unrealistic for the elected body to oversee day-to-day operations, In a step to move towards delegating, many of these functions many City Councils have chosen to create the position of City Administrator. The City Manager position, is found in Plan B statutory cities and in many home rule Charter cities. This fonn of Government is known as the Council-Manager plan. In this type of Govemrnent, the council exercises the legislative power of the city and determines all matters of policy, similar to a board of directors in a private sector company._ The City Manager formulates policy recommendations to the city council, and-admi~fisters and implements the policies-much as a CEO would do in a private sector company. The :City Manager is respOnsible for the administration of all City business, and is answerable to the council. The law prohibits the Council as a whole or any of the individual councilmembers from interfering with the manager's prerogative to hire employees. It also prohibits any individual councilmember fi'om attempting to deal with or control any administrative person who is subordinate to the manager. Instead, the Council must observe all of its controls through the manager. This provision, however, does not prohibit individual councihnembers fi'om obtaining information pertaining to city business fi'Om employees other than the manager. Changing the [brn~ of government would require changes in City Charter Chapter 2 (FORM OF GOVERNMENT). -53-