City of Belle Glade, Florida  
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Elected Officials

  


Mayor Steve B. Wilson


Vice Mayor Mary Kendall


Treasurer Gwendolyn Asia-Holley

(photo not available)
Comm. Michael C. Martin


Comm. Shelly S. Miller

 

 

History of the Council-Manager Form of Government

One of the key elements in twentieth-century municipal reform has been the proposition that a strong and non-political executive office should be the administrative centerpiece of municipal government. This concept has been implemented in thousands of American cities in the twentieth century by the adoption of the council-manager form of government. This form parallels the organization of the business corporation: voters (stockholders) elect the council (board of directors), including the mayor (chairman of the board), which, in turn, appoints the manager (chief administrative officer). Unlike the council-mayor forms, where the emphasis is on political leadership, the prevailing norms in the council-manager form are administrative competence and efficiency.

Under the council-manager form, the manager is the chief administrative office of the city. The manager supervises and coordinates the departments, appoints and removes their directors, prepares the budget for the council's consideration, and makes reports and recommendations to the council. All department heads report to the manager. The manager is fully responsible for municipal administration. The mayor in a council-manager form is the ceremonial head of the municipality, presides over council meetings, and makes appointments to boards. The mayor may be an important political figure, but has little, if any, role in day-to-day municipal administration. In some councils-manager cities, the office of mayor is filled by popular election; in others, by council appointment of a council member.

The council-manager plan, first used in 1908 in Staunton, Virginia, received nationwide attention six years later when Dayton, Ohio, became the first sizable city to adopt it. Thereafter, the plan's popularity enjoyed steady but not spectacular growth until after World War II. At that time, many municipalities were confronted with long lists of needed services and improvements that had backlogged since the Depression years of the 1930s. Faced with such challenges, many municipalities adopted the council-manager form. The plan has been especially attractive to small- and medium-sized localities. It is used in a majority of American municipalities with populations of 25,000 to 250,000. It has been strongly promoted since the 1920s by the National Civic League.

The council-manager form is widely viewed as a way to take politics out of municipal administration. The manager is expected to abstain from any and all political involvement. At the same time, the council members and other "political" leaders are expected to refrain from intruding on the manager's role as chief executive. Of course, the manager, who is hired and fired by the council, is subject to the authority of the council, but council members are expected to abstain from seeking to individually interfere in administrative matters, including actions in personnel matters. Some city charters provide that interference in administrative matters by an elected city official is grounds for removal of the elected official from office.

Source: The Florida Municipal Officials' Manual (a publication of the Florida Institute of Government in cooperation with the Florida League of Cities)

Council-manager government

The council-manager government is one of two main variations of representative municipal government in the United States. This system of government is used in the majority of American cities with populations over 12,000. (for contrast, see Mayor-Council government). The system is also used in the Republic of Ireland both for city councils and county councils

In the council-manager form of government, an elected city council (typically between 5 and 11 people) is responsible for making policy, passing ordinances, voting appropriations, and having overall supervisory authority in the city government. In such a government, the mayor (or equivalent executive) will perform strictly ceremonial duties or will act as a member and presiding officer of the council.

The council will hire a city manager or administrator who will be responsible for supervising government operations and implementing the policies adopted by the council. The manager serves the council, usually with a contract that specifies duties and responsibilities. Ideally, the manager is apolitical, but this is often difficult.

Municipal governments are usually administratively divided into several departments, depending on the size of the city. Though cities differ in the division of responsibility, the typical arrangement is to have the following departments handle the following roles:

  1. Urban planning and zoning:
  2. Economic development and Tourism:
  3. Public Works: construction and maintenance of all city-owned or operated assets, including the water supply system, sewer, streets, stormwater, snow removal, street signs, vehicles, buildings, land, etc.
  4. Parks and Recreation: (construction and maintenance of) city parks, common areas, parkways, publicly owned lands, etc. Also, operation of various recreation programs and facilities.
  5. Police
  6. Fire
  7. Emergency Medical Service
  8. Emergency Management
  9. Accounting / Finance: collects taxes owed to the city.
  10. Human Resources: incorporates human resources department for city workers,
  11. Legal - Risk Management: handles all legal matters including writing municipal bonds, verifying the city is in compliance with state and federal mandates, responding to citizen lawsuits such as lawsuits allegedly stemming from city actions or inactions. Typical legal actions include someone who fell on city-owned sidewalks suing the city for negligence, or a city annexing land.
  12. Transportation (varies widely): If the city has a municipal bus or light rail service, this function may be its own department or it may be folded into the another of the above departments.
  13. Information technology department: supports computer systems used by city employees. May be also responsible for a city website, phones and other systems.
  14. Housing department

The council-manager system can be seen to place all power into the hands of the legislative branch. However, a city manager can be seen as a similar role to that of corporate CEO in providing professional management to an organization. Council-manager government is much like a publicly traded corporation. In a corporation, the board of directors appoints a CEO, makes major decisions and wields representative power on behalf of shareholders. Likewise in council-manager government, the city council appoints a city manager, makes major decisions, and wields representative power on behalf of the citizens.

 

  

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