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<br />The Council-Manager Form of Government: <br /> <br />Page 4 of? <br /> <br />Q: What is the history of the council-manager form? <br /> <br />A: Born out of the progressive reform movement at the beginning of the 20th century, the <br />council-manager system oflocal government is one ofllie few original Ar"'l1erican contributions to <br />political theory. In 1908, Staunton, Virginia, instituted the first position legally defining, by ordinance, <br />the broad authority and responsibility associated with today's professionallocal government manager. <br />Sumter, South Carolina, was the first city to adopt a charter incorporating the basic principles of <br />council-manager government in 1912. Westmount, Quebec, introduced the form to ~Canaaa in 1913. <br />The fIrst large city to adopt the plan was Dayton, Ohio, in 1914. The fIr-st counties to adopt it in the <br />1930s were Arlington County, Virginia, and Durham County and Robeson County, North Carolina. <br />Since its establishment, the council-manager form has become the most popular form of <br />government in the United States in communities with populations of5,OOO or greater. The form also is <br />popular in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Honduras, Chile, and <br />Brazil. For more than 94 years, council-manager government has responded to the changing needs of <br />citizens and their communities. <br /> <br />Q: How can a community adopt this form of government? <br /> <br />A: Methods vary, but most communities can adopt council-manager government through a <br />charter, a local or-dinance, Of a state enabling law. In many cases, adoption must be by vote of the local <br />governing body. For information on how your community can adopt council-manager government, <br />contact your state municipal league or association of counties. You can find the addresses of these <br />organizations in leMA's Municipal Year Book at your local library, or on the Internet. <br /> <br />Q; How is the manager selected? <br /> <br />A: The vacancy usually is, announced in the leMA Newsletter, and managers in other communities <br />are invited to apply if they are interested. Managers, assistants, and others apply directly to the council, <br />which reviews the applications and interviews qualified candidates. leMA makes no recommendations <br />regarding candidates. Further information is available in the handbook Recruitment Guidelines/ar <br />Selecting a Local Government Administrator, published by ICMA and available at http://jobs.icma.org. <br /> <br />http://www2.icma.orgluploadllibraryIIQ/114238.htm <br /> <br />1/16/2003 <br />