2003-01-22 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

.< .'" 'tervi{{e 'Esta/J[ished'1857 STAFF REPORT DATE: January 22,2003 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Kim Moore-Sykes, City Administrator ~ FROM: RE: Council- Manager Form of Government ............................................................................ BACKGROUND Attached to this memo are various pieces of information that I got from the ICMA (International City/County Managers Association) website regarding the council- manager form of local government, ICMA is an organization that promotes municipal and county government and of which many local governments are members and is listed as a link at the League of Minnesota Cities website, Also included is statutory information that Councilmember Capra found regarding the various governing plans available to communities in Minnesota and how they can be adopted. Other information that she includes also suggests that fewer cities in Minnesota have council- manager (plan B in Minnesota) form of government but as she also notes, Home Rule Charter cities have adopted the Plan B local government structure as welL In searching the League of Minnesota Cities web site, I found additional information that compares both positions of city administrator and city manager. In the LMC' s Handbook on City Administration, (the city administrator and city manager portions are copied and attached for your information). As you will read, the duties of both positions are basically the same, with the exception that the city manager has the responsibility to hire and fire staff, and the powers of the city council, again with the exception of hiring and firing personnel, remains in tact. Page 19 of the Handbook states, "The city administrator position is not required, nor even mentioned in [the] state statute.", whereas, the Minnesota Statutes are quite descriptive of what the responsibilities are for city managers (pages 23 and 24). The Handbook goes on to state that the council- manager form oflocal governance was established in the early 1900's (page 23). In the attached article from City/County Management magazine, the exact date and city given: "In 1908, Staunton, VA, became the first U.S, city to institute City Manager position." You will also note that the information indicates that to change to council - manager government occasionally requires only the adoption of a resolution or ordinance. In Minnesota, that is not the case. As you will read in the statutes that Councilmember