Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-28
CITY EXPERT
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commission governed cities, for the
/ Herman Metz fund. This book repre-
sonts the results of his investiga-
! ton on the whole it is fairly favor
! able to the commission plan He.
! however, goes into the economies ana
efficiencics Of all the different de
partments. The volume contains a
great deal Of very suggestive material
and helpful suggestions on how to
being about good city government.
| The book is published by D. Appleton
& Co. and sells for $50. Another
fairly good book covering the whole
| field of commission government is
Dr. Ernest S. Bradford's "COmmission
Government Of American Cities" This
is published by the Macmillan Com
pany, 1925. DR. Bradford appreCi-
ates the subject from a point of view
entirely favorable to the plan Not
great deal of space is devoted to the
argument or objections to commission
government. The volume gives
very comprehensive aud comparative
analysis of all of the various plans
and a great deal of personal informa-
ton, which DR.. Bradford collected in
his various travels over the country.
book on lie subject is also edited
by Clinton Rogers Woodruff called
"City Government by Commission"
and published by Appleton Company,
$50. This is largely a collection OF
addresses given before the convention
Of the National Municipal League.
One of the most useful works on
the subject for charter commissions
Ill l. Nf
Short Ballot Charters" This is a
loose-leaf volume edited by Professor
Beard of Columbia and published by
the Short Ballot Association. 1888 4th
Ave. New York, and sells for $500.
1t contains a digest of the charters OF
practically every city that is operating
under the commission plan, (This is
kept up to date by the association, by
sending additional pages; as new
charters are adopted). 1t presents in
a very handy form the information
which a charter commission should
have at hand, such as the percentages
required for petitions, number Of COM
missioners, civil service regulations.
publicity, requirements. provisions for
the Initiative, Referendum and Re-
call, ETC. The Short Ballot Associa-
ton also publishes a bulletin each
month, which gives a complete list re-
vised to date of cities that have
adopted and are operating under the
commission plan. The November,
1911, issue of the Annals of the Ameri
can Academy of Political and Social
Science was devoted to commission
government This volume contains a
large number of articles by various
students of city government upon the
organization and operation of COM
mission government in their localities.
This volume may be secured from the
academy at Philadelphia for $1.00. |
am sending you copy of the bulletin
which / prepared upon this subject a
couple of years ago. This bulletin
contains the citations to nearly all
the laws and also very comprehen-
sive photography of material on the
subject | am also sending you several
copies of the bulletin which ! pre-
pared for the Madison committee and
also copies of the Wisconsin law.
A new movement has been develop
ing within the last year or two, which
goes one step farther than commits
sion government. namely, the city
manager plan. One of the weak
nesses of the commission plan has al
ways been that there has been no
central head to the administrative
side, which could be held responsible.
for the administration of the city.
Another weakness has been the fact
that a great majority of commission
charters have contemplated the cleo
ton of experts to take charge of each |
department; as a rule a majority of
the board. however, could over-rule
the department head or the commits !
sioner in charge of the department.
This has resulted in a lack of re-
sponsibility for the administration OF
his department on the part of the
commissioner. as has been the case in
Des Moines during the last year.The
police commissioner was over-ruled by J
the other members of the board.
The city manager plan is an effort |
to obviate these two difficulties. Tn !
der this plan there is a small COM
mission Of three, five or seven men |
who are elected by the city at large
and who have charge merely of the !
Legislative side of the city govern ;
the city and determine the policy of
the government. They choose gen !
eral manager or superintendent of
the city to take charge of the admin |
istratiye side. The general manager
is held directly responsible to the |
commission for the entire administra |
ton Of the city government. He
chooses the experts in each depart |
ment. hires all employees, has the
power to discharge them. outlines the
methods of ferent~departments, and !
in short is the business manager OF
the city, charged with the duty OF
carrying out the policy determined !
upon by the commission. The COM |
mission. therefore. only meets ONE a /
month or as often as it is necessary. /
The business manager manages the /
city government and is responsible for
its efficiency to the commission. The
commission has the power of recall /
over the business manager and the !
people have the power of recall over
the commissioners. This system has |,