The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-29
LETTERS TO EDITOR
City Manager for Birmingham

To the Editor of The Age-Herald
 l have read with much interest the comment in last Saturdays Age-Herald upon the passage of the five commissioner
 bill by the recent session of the legisla-
 ture and it's apparent effect upon Bii
 mingham l think, as Mir. Bonner. that the five commissioners will tend toward a truer democratic government. Yet am more inclined to think along with
 MT Thach that what Birmingham really needs is city manager The question of government of our American cities has
 been a topic of widespread interest for years, and Birming gham is in such a con diton that no question could more proflta-
 bly, be discussed ttan one of city govern ment
 In all cases where the proposition has arisen all are more or less prone to ask,
 ''1s the proposed plan one that will lessen expenditures and at the same time re- main efficient well as democratic. Of all the new forms of city government which have been tried this new form of government by d city manager comes nearer filling the three above require ments than any other thus far. It is true thdt Il ildS lOt petn tTleu eXtenSlNely, yet some of our fairly representative cities have tried it and apparently it is proving great success. Among the cities which
 have adopted this plan included Sumter, $. C.; Dayton and Springfield. O.; Phoenix, Ariz. LeGrand and Salem. Ore; Cadillac and Manistee, Mich.
 While it is true that there is a difference in the forms used, they are all based on the same principle. 1. e., the concentra- tion of all the business activities under one head. That head, as MT. Thach said.
 is to be business man of sterling
 character and one who has never dabbed
 in politics, and has no intention of doing so. MT. Thach's idea of having city manager with board of five to act as an advisory board Is the more practica- ble. although as I have said, there are several different plans of the city man ager plan of government. It was first ac- tually adopted in 1912 by Sumter. s. C., but is more populary known as the Lock port (N. Y.) plan. Since that time it has
 made rapid strides. In brief the Sum ter plan consists of a single executive head of the citys affairs. He IS em- p@oyed and subject to popularly elected commission.
 MT. M. M. Worthington, an eminent civil engineer. was the first city manager chosen for Sumter, S. C.. and in the first year saved one-haf of his salary in one or two items of the city's expendi- ture alone. The Staunton plan differs from this in a great many respects. In the first place, the mayor and council are retained; and the general manager Is given entire charge and control of all executive work of the city in it's various departments. over the heads of these de- partments. and the employees. He is ap- pointed by the council for the term of one year, with a salary of $2500 and Is ra6 n ma La of haf | entering upon his duties. Suffering from l political msmanagement. and the ef- | fects of an awful flood. Dayton, O.. in | 1914. adopted home rule'' charter. The l plan laid out in this charter was quite | similar to the Sumter plan, as it was copied from it. It provided for board of five commi ssioners-a legislative body
 to be elected by the city as whole with out respect to ward lines on a nonpar- 1 tisan ticket. In the charter the initiative. | referendum and recall are provided for. | The city manager who was chosen by | this commission was given a free hand over the city's affairs having supervision
 over all departments except the courts and schools. The question still remains. ''Wherein is the advantage?" That
 brings us directly to the point of show | ing where. in few remarks, the city manager plan is superior to commission government. Tn commission government, each commissioner acts in a dual ca- pacity: Q) As member of the board; i @ as a head of department. Again. there is a tendency toward Hog rolling
 among the commissioners which is ab- | solutely eliminated under the proposed plan Also the commission form has not
 succeeded in getting the most suitable men of an administrative training and ca- pacity The administration of a modern city is expert business, and we all know | executive ability Is not obtained through process of election, Among the othe. salient features of the city manager plar are u) all business activities of the city are concentrated under one head, closely lco-ordinating the work of the different departments. @ One purchasing agen, for all the city's supplies. (3) City's books open at all times to inspection (D At the beginning of each fiscal year the manager submits hIs estimate to 8 finance committee, showing needs of vari ous departments.
 Trusting that you will find space fol the above in your next issue, and thank ling you in advance for same, I remain yours truly 5. H. FRAZER.
 Tuscaloosa, September 27, 1915. Uni | yersity of Alabama.