01-31-1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• . PAGE 2 Optional Plan A. This plan normally prescribes a clerk-treasurer but allows for an administrative officer), (see p.67 of the Handbook of •tatutory Cities, 3rd Edition. - - ' •• : - 1 •. •, - - = . ••• - _ _ • . • . - - ..- . t thi rrnvi 4i cin 11,44- nQIT .r ham,, i pevIty' tucted The "standard plan" mainly differs from Plan A in specify- ing the election of the city clerk -- a feature that we consider to be best suited to communities smaller than Mounds View. The distinctive difference in the last choice, Optional Plan B, is the provision for a city manager who has autonomy in administrative matters. Question #5: From observation it is apparent that Lounds View functions e,Pie-va+B oil Nh.iGr pcai"fy , 44(Dv,tAS V: es.. s -xi/0-v-ir..t..its dej174 essentially asAPlan B government, with a de facto city manager, has not been popular with many citizens. This form does have the advantage of providing professional administration, howeiter-,.. a feature that is in- creasingly needed with exermore complex government at all levels. A factor to consider in relation to professional administration is the impact this has,or can have,on the city council-staff relationship. Many citizens have expressed concern that policy as well as administre- -Sc ;r..e✓ tion has been unduly influenced by^Clerk-Administrator Achen. Evidence Wan be seen that the Council has become overly dependent on an admini- strator from the insistence of several Council Members on the appoint- mentethis month)of an acting clerk-administrator, rather than a clerk even though the appointee lacked formal qualifications. The essential problem then appears to be to retain professional admtnistration while providing needed checks and balances in the office. It is recommended that this be done by retaining the basic Optional Plam it ttigQ-s A structure with the following implement the provisions on p.68 of the Pandbook of Statutory Cities which provide that department managers be directly responsible to the council and report directly to both the council and the public. This should make the managers more re- sponsible and more accountable while preventing one individual standing between the council and staff. Secondly, the clerk-administrator post- tion should be, titled clerk-coordinator and the uties of the .position /A;edt., lite_/0 s:f-.c. . e`S 7"re�esdr�.V ii 4/ b•z4<ja;s:lo.& Wiz». (4w vt Ckfk-4,0rd,•.c� cr, rewritt eny as shown in the attaci-„d revision.AA.4 inally, the practice of having a council member as liaison to each staff department, which has recently been adopted by the City Council , should be formalized. . It should be plain after the experience of the past year that. we . can find ourselves in the position where citizens have no real recourse against arbitrary decisions by three or four individuals on the city