The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-12-31

out that the city manager plan a
termed by the Dayton, o., charter. ha
= inception in what became known a
, the L%ockport, N. Y, proposal. TIL,
| board of trade of Lockport, which il
a city of 10000, through years of NAL
administration of city affairs under
the federal form, decided it wanted
change and took up the study of tn,
commission form Of government a,
used in Galveston, Des Moines ap(
other cities.
Twenty-Five cities or more are now
using the city manager plan, and with
one exception all had adopted the
commission form of government be
fore taking up the city manager plan
The principles underlying the city
manager plan are given as follows by
Richard S. Childs, secretary of the
National Short Ballot Organization:
THE city manager plan, or, as they
more exactly call it in Dayton, the
commission manager plan, provides
for a single election board of directors.
which may be called a commission or
council. This commission receives a
nominal salary, OF non Except in
large %cities) and the members give
only part of their time to the city's
work. The functions of the members
Of the commission are to hire and
supervise an appointed chief executive
called city manager, who holds office
at the pleasure of the commission,
also to pass ordinances.
THE city manager, as chief exec
utive, holds universal appointive pow
er over the administrative establish
ment. He is not Necessarily a local res
ident. Supposedly he Is an expert in
municipal matters, and in small cities
he should be an expert engineer. His
salary Is the largest in the service.
"The logical exceptions to the ap-
pointive power Of the city manager
would be a civil service commission
and an auditor. These would be ap-
pointed by the city commissioners. In
large cities the auditor might we'll be
given powers as are possessed by the
commissioner of accounts in New
York City"
The city manager plan differs from
the commission plan in the fact that
the commissioners do not assume the
actual executive management of the
city departments, but delegate admin
istrative work for the manager. The
plan preserves the basic merits of the
commission plan, which are the short
ballot and the unification of powers.
The short ballot means the limiting
Of the number Of elective officers to
be chosen by the voters. The unfit
Of powers means the reposing
of all power in a single board.
The advantages of the city manager
plan are numerous. For counsel,
many minds are needed. For execu-
ton, a single head is required. The
school board, with a superintendent to
carry out the plan of the board,
demonstrates this meaning. It is i'm,
that the manager be appoint
We. Any plan to elect him will prove
to the principle. The manager
must be a loyal servant of the com,
n~issioners, else they cannot be made
for his acts. He must in
10 way be Independent of them, al
hough no objection is offered to al
owing the commission to contract
With him for a certain number of
of service.
To make it possible to hire a man =
ger from out of town, not only is J.
in getting expert service, but :
5 highly important to the coming pro- :
ession Of city management. I
From the viewpoint of the people, I
he city manager plan is more demo- T
than the commission plan, be- Z
it enlarges the peoples field of .
The city manager plan gives E
he people better control over the gov s
because 1t provides a handler :
andle. They can select the truest 7
representative, unhampered by any
of the business exper- .
,nce or salary earning capacity of .
ne favorite. !.
The plan abolishes one-man power 8
1t gives even further in this 3
the commission plan does, for :
the latter each commissioner has a
phere of administrative authority :
Ito which no other commissioner can z
: