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Asir <br /> .' PAGE 2 <br /> Optional Plan A. This plan normally prescribes a clerk-treasurer but <br /> allows for an administrative officer. (see p.67 of the Handbook of <br /> Statutory Cities, 3rd Editionl. <br /> teThe "standard plan" mainly differs from Plan A in specify- <br /> ing the election of the city clerk -- a feature that we consider to be <br /> best suited to communities smaller than Mounds View. The distinctive <br /> difference in the last choice, Optional Plan B, is the provision for a <br /> city manager who has autonomy in administrative matters.. <br /> Question5: . From ob$$e ation itis apparent that Mounds View functions <br /> .i,P,cK 'S ,Hv '-/fai •1 drWhl% V:r+✓s &O 4r 84• ‘40,11.0 <br /> essential y asA`Plan government, with a de facto city manager, has not <br /> been popular with many citizens. This form does have the advantage of <br /> providing professional administration, howezer,. a feature that is in- <br /> creasingly needed with ezermore complex government at all levels. <br /> A factor to consider in relation to professional administration is <br /> the impact this has,or man have, on the city council-staff relationship. <br /> Many citizens have expressed concern that policy as well as administre- <br /> fore <br /> tion has been unduly influenced byClerk-AdministratorAchen. Evidence <br /> can be seen that the Council has become overly dependent on an admini- <br /> strator from the insistence of several Council Members on the appoint- <br /> ment(this. month)of an acting clerk-administrator, rather than a clerk , <br /> even though the appointee lacked formal qualifications. <br /> The essential problem then appears to be to retain professional <br /> administration while providing needed checks and balances in the office. <br /> It is recommended that this be done by retaining the basic Optional Plam <br /> �`~ `s <br /> A structure with the following implement the provisions on <br /> p.68 of the Handbook of Statutory Cities which provide that department <br /> managers be directly responsible to the council and report directly to <br /> both the council and the public. This should make the managers more re <br /> sponsible and more accountable, while preventing one individual standing <br /> between the council and staff. Secondly, the clerk-administrator posi- <br /> lion should beNtitled clerk-coordinator and <br /> �he, duties of the p2sition <br /> ..r4Atidf 144. plt: " ff T r deaf se#4 7 11. C(.r�E Grey :gas. i. <br /> rewritbn, as s�iown in` ie attached revisionA�lFinally, the practice of <br /> having a council member as liaison to each staff department, which has <br /> recently been adopted by the City Council, should be formalized. <br /> It should be plain after the experience of the past year that we <br /> Can find ourselves in the position where citizens have no real recourse <br /> against arbitrary decisions by three or four individuals on the city <br />