Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-07-27

lCOuuClluSu has WOTu ILSell OUT. IL
often incompetent men are chose
that way because of personal quail
rels inside the small precincts of tn
ward. Where councilmen are elect
ed at large it is much easier to pei
suade able men to become candi
dates. 1t is easier for an outside in
terest to manipulate large council
1t is easier for a large council, be
cause of its compleXity and the am
biguity Of it's committee system, t,
step from under it's responsibilities
1t is easier for public sentiment tt
keep its eyes on three men than OF
eight or ten or twelve. In municip
al, county and state administration
the trend is everywhere toward sad
ding responsibility on few shout.
ders. Experience has brought this
about.
This has no reference whatever to
our Webster City councilmen. 1 am
not entering at all into the details
of our local situation, and trust my
friends in our present administra-
ton will understand I am not aim
ing any disguised shafts at them.
But facts are facts, and municipal
experience will not let us avoid this
conclusion, that it is better for a
town to have three councilmen elect
ed at large than to have seven coun-
cilmen, most of them elected from
wards.
3.-Will the city manager be a
boss? Yes and no. Yes, in the sense
that he will boss those that need a
boss-the employees in the various
administrative departments. He has
the same authority over them that
the general manager of factory has
over the department heads under
him. No, in the sense that he will
WELD autocratic political power. He
will not, he cannot, run the city; he
can only run the business affairs of
the city. The council does all the
legslating. That body, as the peo-
pies representative, tells the mana
ger what to do. There will be no
way in which he can build up a po-
litical machine; as his job will be in
definite as to length and not depend
ent on political fortune, he will have
no incentive to build up a political
machine.
4.-What are the duties of the
To enforce ordinances. To
all officials except those
which are elected by the people or
by the council. To hire
or discharge employees for the var
ious administrative departments,
such as water, police, street, etc. To
issue licenses. To be responsible for
the conduct and efficiency of all the
employees in the departments under
him. In short, to be a general man.
ager of the community's business af-
fairs.
5.-Why could not the present
council hire manager without
changing the whole system? Because
such a manager would have no legal
power except such as would be
granted him by council; this would
reduce him to the status Of a Great
ure of council and make him the vic
tim of political conditions. He
would be subject to discharge at ev-
cry election and his job might any
time be ended without notice. This
would bring his office into politics
and would involve us in perpleXities
end. Under the statute he
would have authority vested in him
BY the state Created by the council
his office at any time could be abol-
shed by the council and it might
happen that our recent experiences
with the light superintendent would
De repeated on a larger scale.
6.-Where can we get a mana
ger? Hundreds of trained and COM
petent men are available. The Rus
sci Sage school of New York is
men for this very function.
The Dayton manager had wide bus
ness experience and was city engin-
eer Of Cincinnati; there are great
numbers Of men scattered through |
our various towns who would be we'll
able to fill the bill, and who have
had the same training as he. The
Dayton commissioners had more
han a hundred men to choose from.
II man has had special training
rs civil engineer and has served in
me or two departments in some
and is possessed Of fair
ability he would be quail
fled as manager.
7.-Would the plan be more cost
y? No. 1t would cost us less. The