Arguments For the Council-Manager Form Administration of city business is removed from politics. Since city managers are appointed rather than elected, greater attention can be given to selecting a qualified manager. The pool of qualified candidates is larger since city managers traditionally are paid better than mayors and since candidates can be recruited from outside the city including a nationwide search. Since managers are appointed not elected, they are less likely to have political obligations which will affect the quality of their administration. Emphasis is placed on the role of the legislative body and its policy-making function.
Council gets better cooperation and information because the city manager is their employee.
The council-manager form gives too much power to one person the city manager. A professional manager, often chosen from outside the city, does not know the community and is too far from the voters. Councils may leave too much decision making to the manager, who is not directly accountable to the public. Without an elected chief executive, the community lacks political leadership. The council-manager form is too much like a business corporation which is not suitable for managing community needs.