Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-03-14
The Commission Form Bill.

The Bee has been asked to discuss
bill which has been drawn by Attor-
ney Breen and fatheTed by the Omaha
Ad club. We have deferred comment
ing on this bill until the full text
should be available instead of the
fTagmentary synopsis given out at the
time of it's Introduction. The Bee
has expressed itself in general terms
with reference to the commission form
of government, heretofore regarding
it as yet wholly experimental and de-
pending entirely upon the character
and ability of the men chosen as COM
missioners rather than upon the titles
with which they are invested.
The present proposed commission
form bill is, as it should be, optional
for any city to adopt 1t merely SUI
perimposes on the existing charter a
substitution of seven commissioners
elected at large with all powers Of
mayor and council, police board,
water board. park board and library
board, and gives the commissioners
the appointment of all officers and en-
ployes, elective and otherwise, and
the fixing of their salaries without
commissioners could at any time raise
or lower the pay of any one, or every
one, in the municipal service except
themselves, or discharge them alto
gether with or without cause. Palpa-
bly, comforting such far-reaching pow
| ers on a body of seven men, which
would naturally and inevitably be run
by a combine of four of them, would
make everything depend upon the
kind of men chosen for commissioners.
The two distinctive features of the
! proposed bill, namely, the partyless
ballot and the recall, are no necessary
part Of the commission form any more
than any other form of city govern
ment. The paTtyless ballot could be
used for the election of mayors and
councilmen, city clerks and comptrol-
! lers Just as we'll as for commissioners
with the same good or bad effects.
The recall, If desirable, could be ap-
piled to the existing elective and APP
pointive city officials just as well as to
seven commissioners.
The bill raises anew the point
whether it is desirable to have any
geographical distribution of the re-
sponsible oficers OF city government.
We now require our twelve council
men, although elected at large, to live
each in a separate ward, whereas the
seven commissioners could all reside
in the same block. The commission
form eliminates absolutely the idea OF
representation. This, we believe, has
a more important bearing on Omaha
| right now than it ordinarily would
have because we are yet to accomplish
consolidation with South Omaha
Would South Omaha ever consent to
come in with no assurance of repre-
sentation in our city government. but,
on the contrary, an almost certainty
that II would not be allowed to fur
nish even one of the seven commits
sioners?
Another defect in the bill, as it ap-
pears TO us, is the utter absence of
civil service features. Members of
the police and FIRE departments are
now on merit tenure, and have vested
rights in relief and pension funds, yet
this bill seems to permit the commits
sioners TO turn them out arbitrarily
! with no recourse. We believe that.
instead of destroying what civil
service we now have in police and fire
departments. It should be retained and
extended to other branches OF the
municipal service