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Page 5 Chapter 6: Administration of City Affairs. This chapter will be the hardest for me to evaluate from a non-bias position. At least it will be preceded as a bias position. I have both philosophical and practical problems with this entire section. It should be remembered that the City Council has only limited time available to impact on the daily operation of the community. For that reason, the City Councils. throughout the state,which has significent populations, have hired and rely on City employees and staff to conduct the daily business. This is true re- gardless of the form of government that the City may have. Therefore, the Councils must have faith in the ability of their employees to conduct and excute the policies , ordinances which they established at the legislative body for the community. Thus, the comments made on this chapter will be tempered by pro- fessional convictions by understanding of the statutes and my previous pro- fessional experiences in the municipal field within the state of Minnesota. I would hope that the Commission will accept these comments in the manner form in which they are given. My purpose in this profession and in this community is the same as the City Council and hopefully the same as the Commission, that of providing effective,responsive government for the residents of this City. Before commencing on the section by section review I would again like to emphasize that the Charter Commission should strongly consider and amend this chapter to the Council-Manager form of government. The City Council has not reduced its authority by adopting this form of government. For example, in the City of St. Louis Park Charter under their section 2.01 "All discretionary powers of the City, both legislative and executive, shall be vested in and be excercised by the City Council". Similar language can be drafted in to the Mounds View City Charter. The Commission should remember that the two major differences between the Plan A and Plan B form of government is that the City Manager has the ability to hire and fire and that it is manditory that he prepare the budget for Council adoption. This is not significently different then what existed in this Com- munity now. The City's Administrator is preparing budget for the City Council to adopt and the recommendation for hiring and firing of employees will still come from that position. Again, referring to the St. Louis Park Charter under section 5.02 duties and powers of the City Manager, sub. B, "To point with the consent and approval of the Council all Department Heads and subordinate Officers set forth in City Charter; and" . So even here the City Council has the final say on the hiring and firing of an employee. Included at the end of the discussion of the chapter is the City Management Code of ethics which are the professional standards by which I conduct myself. A copy of a resolution which the City of Minnetrista adopted ,while I was the Administrator of that Community. Section 6.01 : This section should be rewritten to state that the City Council is the head of legislative branch of the City government, and the Administrator is the head of the administration of the City. Some additional language maybe added that the Administrator should be hired solely on the basis of his or her qualifi- cations .