Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1913-11-18
1.-THE L0CKP0RT
PROPOSITION
How a Small City in New York
Secured a Business Form
Of Government
CITY MANAGER PLAN
City Manager Appointed by
the Commission Secures Ef-
ficiency and Economy

Municipal conditions in the city Of
Lockport are much the same as in
many others which have suffered
from the typical ills Of American
democracy. The city has a popula.
tion somewhat under 10000. and has
been ruled for years by triumvirate
of bosses. Popular control has been
a negligible quantity, and the rule Of
the self-appointed trio has been any.
thing but one responsive to the will
of the people of the city. AS nat
ural consequence of the aloofness Of
the government, needed improve.
ments have been delayed for years
at stretch, and when actually under.
taken, have been executed in a most
inefficient and expensive manner. It
was these conditions which led the
Lockport Board Of Trade to become
sponsor for the plan Of municipal
organization which has come to be
known as the "Lockport Proposal"
which was embodied in a bill intro.
duced into the 1911 session of the
New York legislature and supported
by the Commission Government Asso-
citation Of New York State.
The 'Lockport plan" is built upon
the same basic principle az the Des
Moines commission government law.
but 1t aims to correct what seem to
many to be illogical features Of that
plan. The commission government
movement is based primarily upon
the theory Of the union Of legislative
and administrative powers in the
hands Of small body of men who
are the sole responsible agents of the
people. It Is theory. borne out In
practice, that this small group of
men, because Of their conspicuous po-
sition. tend to feel a responsibility to
the constituents in a degree which
virtually restores government to the
people. The Des Moines plan, how.
ever. does not carry this theory of
responsibility to itsN logical conclusion.
The commission of five men are not
collectively responsible for the acts
of the municipality. Neither are the
commissioners At first
blush these statements may startle
some readers, but note carefully the
f0n0u,irn Ivn0thof;oo1 c;fuotior NJ
us suppose that the majority of the
have passed an ordinance
for the requirement. of the
main thorouehfare. Let US suppose
that the commissioner of streets and
public property was not member
of the majority which pa sed the res
and happens also to be a
man of Independent ideas. What ac-
ton can the responsible commission
take to force one of it's own number
to execute it's orders? Now suppose
another situation: The commission.
er of streets is desirOus of placing
in the public squares.
Public sentiment is clamoring for such
action, but on looking over his an
nual budget, the commissioner finds
that it is insufficient to cover this add
ed expense. He applies to the COM
mission for larger appropriation and
they refuse. In the case, who is re-
sponsible for the inaction of the CITY
government? Cases of such conflict
have actually been brought forward
in some of the commission governed
cities.
Under the Lockport plan RESPONSE
bility would be vested in five men.
acting always collectively They would
meet with no such difficulty in en-
forcing their orders as in the case
cited, for the party responsible for
The actual execution of orders would
not be one of their own number but
an appointive creature of theirs-the
city manager. In short, the Lockport
plan is an exact parallel of the organi |
zation of a private business corpora
lion, with the city council correspond
ing to the board of directors and the !
city manager to the general manager.
This city manager is the unique fea
ture of the "LOckport plan." But
while it is a unique proposal in the
of city governments, it |
Is by no means novel in other forms
Of organization. Not only have pri-
vate corporations reached what ap-
pears to be their ultimate form in this |
particular type Of organization. but it
Is the plan which operates in large
school systems throughout the United
States, in which the superintendent
Of schools corresponds to the city
It Is also very close ap-
proximation to the German type Of
city government, in which the Bur.
gomeister is the central administra-