Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-16-08 workshop agenda — reading text

Citizens feel closer to district elected council members, whom they can hold responsible for addressing their community concerns. In cities where courts have found that the at -large method of electing the city council violates the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department has regularly approved the single- member district system as a replacement. The single- member system has drawbacks. An inherent problem is the danger that district elected members will subordinate citywide concerns to parochial problems. Single- member systems also have potential for the classic problem of " log- rolling" or vote swapping. Whenever districts are used, the drawing of district lines to provide " fair and equal" districts is of utmost importance and may involve litigation. Section 6. 03 provides districting procedures and criteria designed to prevent gerrymandering and unequal districts, which are unconstitutional under the one person, one vote doctrine. Section 2. 03. Mayor. a) Powers and Duties. The mayor shall be a voting member of the city council and shall attend and preside at meetings of the council, represent the city in intergovernmental relationships, appoint with the advice and consent of the council the members of citizen advisory boards and commissions, present an annual state of the city message, appoint the members and officers of council committees, assign subject to the consent of council agenda items to committees, and perform other duties specified by the council. The mayor shall be recognized as head of the city government for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law but shall have no administrative duties. b) Election - Alternative I — Mayor Elected by the Council. The city council shall elect from among its members officers of the city who shall have the titles of mayor and deputy mayor, each of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the council. The deputy mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor. Alternative II — Mayor Elected At Large. At each regular election the voters of the city shall elect a mayor at large for a term of [ the same term as other council members] years. The council shall elect from among its members a deputy mayor who shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor and, if a vacancy occurs, shall become mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term. Commentary. a) The office of mayor in cities having the council -manager form assumes a different character from city to city depending upon local political, economic, and social conditions. This variation has meant that the office is not well understood, and its potential has too often gone unrecognized. 10 While the mayor of a council- manager city is not an executive as in the mayor- council form, he or she is uniquely positioned to be the political and policy leader of the city. As the presiding officer of the council and ceremonial head of the city, the mayor is the most conspicuous official of the city. Freedom from executive responsibilities for the day -to -day municipal operations allows the mayor to focus attention on major policy issues and important facilitative activities. The mayor fills three facilitative roles that offer enormous leadership opportunities. First, the mayor may coordinate the activities of other officials by providing liaison between the city manager and the council, fostering a sense of cohesion among council members, and educating the public about the needs and prospects of the city. Second, the mayor may facilitate policy guidance through setting goals for the council and advocating the adoption of policies that address the city's problems. Third, the mayor is an ambassador who promotes the city and represents it in dealing with other governments as well as the public. The specific responsibilities of the mayor listed in the Model enhance the mayor's leadership position. The traditional responsibility of presiding at council meetings allows the mayor to set the tone for city government and help the council make decisions. Designation of the mayor as intergovernmental representative reflects the increased importance of relationships with other local governments as well as with the state and federal governments. Mayoral appointment of boards and commissions with council advice and consent, and of the membership of council committees, creates the opportunity for purposeful balanced representation and can be used to forge coalitions and tap into networks of community activity. Finally, the mayor delivers the state of the city message. When the state of the city message includes the setting out of needs and goals for the city, it should reflect the thinking of the council and information provided by the staff, as well as the mayor's own priorities. In presenting the state of the city message, the mayor acts as spokesperson, educator, team leader, goal setter, and policy advocate. To avoid confusion, the time of delivery of the message should be sufficiently distanced from the presentation of the budget by the manager. b) As with mayoral responsibilities, the method of election of the mayor has implications for office effectiveness. The Model provides two alternative methods for electing the mayor. A community' s choice of election method depends on local preference and tradition and to some extent on the method chosen to elect the council ( see Article VI). Many communities feel that local policy leadership can best function when a cohesive team of council members chooses its leader as mayor. These cities use Alternative I, election of the mayor by and from the council, and thus avoid the possibility of conflict between the mayor and the council majority. Such an approach may be best suited for cities with at -large council elections. In cities with councils elected from districts, council selection of the mayor presents the mayor with conflicting roles —district and citywide. Cities that provide for council selection of the mayor should avoid two practices which diminish the prospect of effective leadership. First is rotation of the office of mayor among members. This approach may hinder the emergence of a respected leader by preventing any one member from 11  A It can also acquiring experience and increasing competence in the exercise of leadership skills. mean that the true leader of the council is not the mayor, which may create a misperception of inside dealing and secret manipulation. The second practice is to automatically designate as mayor the council member who receives the largest number of votes. This awkward approach prevents the council from choosing its leader and does not give voters full knowledge for which office —council member or mayor — they were casting votes. More than half of the cities operating with the council -manager form use the direct election at -large alternative ( Alternative II). Many cities, particularly larger ones, believe that this method increases the potential for mayoral leadership by giving the mayor a citywide popular support base. This is A particularly important when all or most of the council members are elected from districts. potential disadvantage of this method is that the mayor may have views that diverge widely from those of a majority of the council on some important issues. Whatever the method of election or the strength of the mayor's leadership role, the mayor is preeminently a legislator, a member, and leader of the council; the mayor is not an executive. However, the office may require some special staff support. Whatever arrangements are made for support either through the city manager or staff in the mayor' s office should be consistent with two premises. First, the mayor should not encroach on the executive responsibilities of the manager. Second, the mayor and council collectively, as a body, oversee the operations of the city by the manager. Communities should avoid granting special voting status to the mayor ( e. g., vote on council only to make or break a tie). Such power will likely impede rather than enhance the mayor's capacity to lead. Similarly, giving the mayor veto power in a council -manager city cannot help but confuse his or her role with that of the executive mayor in a mayor- council city. No structural arrangement for government will insure effective mayoral leadership. The person who occupies the office must understand the nature of the job —its possibilities, interdependencies, and limitations —and have the personal inclination, energy, and talent to exercise necessary leadership. Without that, no amount of structural support will produce a leader. However, the method of selection and the statement of responsibilities provided in the charter should help insure the selection of a capable person with recognized leadership abilities who will make a significant contribution to the operation of the city. Section 2. 04. Compensation; Expenses. The city council may determine the annual salary of the mayor and council members by ordinance, but no ordinance increasing such salary shall become effective until the date of commencement of the terms of council members elected at the next regular election. The mayor and council members shall receive their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office. 12 Commentary. Under the Model, council members are part-time officials and do not direct city departments. Council salary level depends on a variety of factors specific to each community, including the part- time nature of the position and the emphasis on policy-making rather than administration. The city should reimburse council members for expenses incurred in performing their duties, e. g., travel to the state capital to testify on behalf of the city. The Model rejects the setting of the actual amount of compensation in the charter except for the salary of the first council after the charter goes into effect ( see § 9. 05( f)).The delay in the effective date of any salary increases provides ample protection. The city should provide extra compensation for the mayor because, in addition to regular responsibilities as a council member, the mayor has intergovernmental, ceremonial, and city -related promotional responsibilities. Section 2. 05. Prohibitions. a) Holding Other Office. Except where authorized by law, no council member shall hold any other elected public office during the term for which the member was elected to the council. No council member shall hold any other city office or employment during the term for which the member was elected to the council. No former council member shall hold any compensated appointive office or employment with the city until one year after the expiration of the term for which the member was elected to the council, unless granted a waiver by the Board of Ethics. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the council from selecting any current or former council member to represent the city on the governing board of any regional or other intergovernmental agency. b) Appointments and Removals. Neither the city council nor any of its members shall in any manner control or demand the appointment or removal of any city administrative officer or employee whom the city manager or any