What is the Council/Manager System?
According to the International City/County Management Association, the council-manager form of government combines the strong political leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed city manager. All power and authority to set policy rests with an elected governing body, the city council. The council, in turn, hires a nonpartisan manager who runs the organization. Since its establishment, the council-manager form has become the most popular local government structure in the United States.
Origin of the System
The Council/Manager system, a pioneering concept, was first used in 1908 in Staunton, Virginia. In 1914, Dayton, Ohio, became the first large city to adopt it, marking a significant shift in city governance. Dubuque, Iowa followed suit in 1920. The system was designed to eliminate political pressure and corruption in running a city, a revolutionary idea at the time. Today, over 60% of cities and towns in the U.S. realize the value of using the system. Phoenix, Arizona, with a population of 1.4 million, is the largest city using the system.
History of the Council/Manager System of Government
One of the critical elements in 20th-century municipal reform has been the proposition that a solid and non-political executive office should be the administrative centerpiece of municipal government. This concept was implemented in thousands of American cities in the 20th century by adopting 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 mayor/council forms, which emphasize political leadership, the prevailing norms in the council-manager form are administrative competence and efficiency.
Benefits
A city benefits from the council-manager form of government in many important ways:
Studies show that professional city managers provide complete and objective information on city operations, discuss the pros and cons of alternatives, and assess the long-term consequences of the council’s decisions. Additionally, studies indicate an extra benefit: a more harmonious council.
- Political power is concentrated in the entire governing body. The mayor and council share legislative functions.
- Policymaking resides with elected officials, while oversight of the community’s day-to-day operations resides with the manager. This way, the elected officials can devote time to policy planning and development.
- The manager carries out the policies established by the elected governing body, emphasizing effective, efficient, and equitable service delivery.
- Because decisions on policy and the community’s future are made by the entire governing body rather than a single individual, council-manager governments more often engage and involve their residents in decision-making. Residents guide their community by serving on boards and commissions, participating in visioning and strategic planning, and designing community-oriented local government services.
My Benefits from the Council/Manager System
Lower Property Taxes: The system’s efficiency can lead to significant savings on property taxes and fees, easing the financial burden on citizens. Waterloo has the highest property tax in Iowa at $22.07 per thousand. The second highest is $17.85 in Council Bluffs, third highest in Davenport at $ 16.78. All three mayor/council cities
Better Decision-Making: A professional manager ensures that the council receives high-quality information, leading to more informed decisions.
Higher Citizen Satisfaction: Studies show citizens are more satisfied with their government in council/manager-run cities due to improved governance.
What is my involvement as a citizen?
Your responsibility is to educate yourself on the advantages of the city’s professional council/manager system. Once you are convinced of the system’s value, spread the word to others to visit this site, lobby the city council to educate our citizens on the system’s benefits, and call for a referendum. Believe in your ability to make a difference in the success of this venture—because you can.
Council/Manager Systems Are More Efficient
IBM’s study, “Smarter, Faster, Cheaper,” examined city efficiency of the top 100 cities in the U.S. Efficiency is the ability to do something well and without waste, especially regarding time, effort, materials, energy, or money. “Management appears to be the key, and the study provides some evidence. Cities with city manager forms of government are nearly 10% more efficient than cities with strong mayor forms of government. This finding appears to validate the assumption underlying city manager forms of government, notably that investing executive authority in professional management shielded from direct political interference should yield more efficiently managed cities.”
Professional Management Matters (and it matters a lot)
A direct result of increased efficiency covers the manager’s salary, which is comparable to a school superintendent’s pay. This efficiency leads to lower property taxes and fees and attracts more businesses to the city. Property values will rise, and there will be an increased sense of pride in our city.
Mayor and City Manager Qualifications
There is a stark contrast in eligibility requirements. For mayors, the only prerequisites are a desire to run for office, gathering enough signatures, and receiving one more vote than an opponent. In short, there are no formal qualifications required to be mayor.
Professional city managers, however, must have a degree in public administration, business administration, political science, or a related field. They also need five years of on-the-job experience as an assistant manager, leadership and goal-setting, program evaluation, and negotiation skills. Additionally, they require financial management experience and knowledge of accounting, urban planning, and public health. In short, they are PROFESSIONALS.
Reasonable Facsimiles of Other Managerial Fields
There is a universal method for managing complex situations. Consider that the council/manager system is a near facsimile of the following fields: school districts, businesses, and construction.
A school board is elected and mandated by Iowa law to hire a school superintendent who is educated, trained, and experienced in management. This is also how businesses operate: the board of directors hires a CEO with the credentials to manage the enterprise. Similarly, the construction industry employs a project manager, an educated, trained, and experienced professional, to oversee building projects.
Who creates the budget?
The manager creates the budget and presents it to the council, which can reject, approve, or alter it. The elected council has the final say on how your money is spent.
How is a Referendum Called?
There are two ways to call a referendum:
Council-Scheduled Referendum: This is the more straightforward method. The city council can schedule a referendum. For example, this method was used in Ithaca, NY, in 2023. After an educational period, the citizens adopted the measure with a 73% approval rate.
Citizen-Initiated Referendum: This method is more challenging. A citizen group, such as Advance Waterloo, must collect signatures equal to 25% of votes cast in the latest election. Once the signatures are validated, the city clerk presents the results to the city council, which must then schedule an election.
Roles
City Council’s Role
The city council is the community’s legislative and policymaking body. Power is centralized in the elected council, which, for example, approves the budget and determines the tax rate. The council also focuses on the community’s goals, major projects and such long-term considerations as community growth, land use development, capital improvement and financing and strategic planning. The council hires a professional manager to implement the administrative responsibilities related to these goals and supervises the manager’s performance.
Mayor’s Role
The mayor is the presiding member of the city council, represents the city in inter-governmental relationships, makes appointments to various city boards and committees with council approval, and is the face of the city. In council-manager communities, depending on the set-up, the mayor is elected, as now, or may be chosen by the council from their ranks and may or may not be a voting member of the city council. The mayor presides at council meetings, represents the city in intergovernmental relationships, appoints members of citizen advisory boards and commissions (with the advice and consent of the council), assigns agenda items to committees, facilitates communication and understanding between elected and appointed officials, and assists the council in setting goals an advocating policy decisions.
City Manager’s Role
The city manager is hired to serve the council and the community and brings to the local government the benefits of his/her training and experience in administering municipal projects and programs. The manager prepares a budget for the council’s consideration; recruits, hires, terminates, and supervises government staff; serves as the council’s chief advisor; and carries out the council’s policies. Council members and residents count on the manager to provide complete and objective information about local operations, discuss the pros and cons of alternatives, and assess the long-term consequences of their decisions. The manager makes policy recommendations to the council for consideration and final judgment. The manager is bound by whatever action the council takes, and control is always in the hands of the elected representatives of the people. Appointed managers serve at the pleasure of the governing body. They can be fired by a majority of the council, consistent with local laws, or any employment agreements they may enter into with the council.
Mayor-Council-Manager Relationship
Under the council-manager form, the manager is the city’s chief administrative officer. 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 council-manager cities, the office of mayor is filled by popular election; in others, by council appointment of a council member.
The council-manager form is widely viewed as taking politics out of municipal administration. The manager is expected to abstain from any 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 hired and fired by the council is subject to the council’s authority. Still, 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 the removal of the elected official from office.
Cities in Iowa Using the Council/Manager System
Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, Ankeny, Iowa City, and West Des Moines are some of the larger cities using the council/manager system. Many smaller cities and towns, such as Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Clinton, and Manchester, also use this system.
Interestingly, Waterloo, Council Bluffs, and Davenport are the only mayor/council cities in the top ten. They are also the highest-taxed cities in Iowa. Waterloo ranks first, followed by Council Bluff and Davenport.
