Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-11-08

/ port OF tho New York Bureau OF NUM-
y cipal Research is given to the orGani-
Il xation, of the government of Richmond
s mended. each of which. il is claimed
will cure the defect or lack Of cen
ira ized authority. This section OF the
& report follows i'll full.
Organisntion of the Government.
49, In seeking to develop and maintain
IS the efficiencytand effectiveness of n city
S4 government. attention must first be
~ given to! it's structural organization
So in this survey of the city govern
ment of Richmond, it is important to
consider the general plan now in opera
IS ton and the charter provisions with
81 respect to the relations between each
OF these branches. Also to consider the
D lines OF appointing and reporting au-
: thority sbetween the executive ana
& Legislative branches of the government
i and tho various administrative depart
rHents and offices.
& The present organization as provided
by. the city charter possesses three
i. There is no responsibility for lea
dership.ts
9. The organization is too complex.
). There is insufficient correlation OF
related functions
There are also defects in the existing
II plan which are directly attributable to
7 the statutory law of the state. chief
among which is the ineGuitable repre-
sentation of the electorate in the city
legislature The State constitution also
city's government iii that il requires
that toosmany of the executive officials
shall be elected by the people
Responsibility for leadership.
Just as Capitalization of executive
authority is essential TO inc progress
so is it also essential in u public cor
porationt like that of city's govern
ment. ltswould be as reasonable to eX-
a bank or large insurance company
by the board of directors thereof
without Capitalization of executive au.
thority in the president or general
manager. as to expect efficient manage
ment of a city without ceniralizing eN-
ecutive authority and responsibility in
The people of Richmond will never
obtain the desired. results from their
government until they provide FOR exc
cutive leadership therein. As is we'll
known. the Mayor OF Richmond is given
no such power of leadership Practi-
c;,lly tho only appointive power given
him is his secretary. the chief OF 20
lice. secretary of Police Department,
and the police surgeon. Other appoint
he sati ISL clio to him. but the fact
remains that of the various heads OF
administrative departments. the Mayor
ei tpo employees for thirty days or re-
move them, but in event of removal
they may appeal to the judge of the
matter is final. The result is that in
case of an appeal. the Mayors posi-
lion is at once shifted to that of de-
PENDANT. Furthermore. even II his ac-
ton is upheld by the court there is
nothing to prevent the appontive au-
thority--the City Council or the Ad-
reappointing the person who has Just
been removed. Thus il is that this
removal power OF the Mayor is almost
useless in its operation.
Mayors Powers Limited.
Similarly, the charter gives other mi
nor powers TO the Mayor which are
more apparent than real, . For exam yam
access TO all books and documents in
the Offices of the various ofiices or
boards, The fact is that the books
records.y and, as such. are open TO in
spectioInf by any taxpayer,
The heads of most OF the large adj
minis,rafivc departments are appointed
by the Administrative Board. To eX-
pect leadership from board or Or
ganization is TO expect the impossiblc;;
Executive leadership is an individual!
attribute. and even If an individual
member of the ADMINISTRATIVE, Board
would soon have TO contend with jeal-
ousics, and lack of CO operation in his
protect his leadership.
1t was unfortunate that, at the time
the charter was revised to provide Tor
,herin was not made appointive By
the Mayor instead OF elective by the
people Experience everywhere shows
however democratic tho plan may be.
cannot be depended unon as means
tives. Particularly is this true. when
the alluring attraction OF n S",coo sal
airy is ipcludet lrrhspGctiyG OF the
personnel of the existing board leaving
ii entirely ont OF consideration. and
5 irrespective of occasional notable cX,,
ceptions, the fac: must be recognized
loath 10 stand for election. IL is far,
easier to secure a competent executive
a city council cannot exercise exc
cntive leadership FOR the same reasons
: Board As a Legislative body the City
Council Of Richmond is given the ap.
administrative Offices. 1T should he re-
s quired by charter to adhere 10 its
Z proper functions as the representative
2 branch of the government IN serving as
y. a check on the executive branch and as
) tho local leg isla turc.
Organization Too Complicated.
The organization of the city'S gov
erument Is so complicated that II IS
s difficult TO understand unles" set forth
! graphically on :, chart ComnleNiiy IN
rovernn,ental organization IL always
Synonymous With red tape. waste. du-
Diication, lost time and general ineifi,
on a simple plan which could be readily
i understood, not only by the average
X voter but falso by the children IN the
!. city schools. the plan has been revised
8 and readjusted until comparatively few
persons outside of the city government
yranhfc chart thereof has becu pre-
pared and is inGiHdf %s h,T crew, lfh az,
ford n better knowledge" of the cN-
listing conditions than G ,idn be obtained
e ~. icallv no correlation of related
functions is provided for in the present
y scfiarter except 10 tho extent mat a
large group of departments are placed
,,nder the supervision OF the .tdmnis-
& tratiye Board. The public works func-
IA lions tfereunder are no; only divided
s : : between the City Engineer. The Su-
soerintendent of street Cleaning aud the
"a mark lie rers, but the lack Of corrcia-
s9fion5 extends to the Building Inspector,
city Hall enginesrs' cemetery k ,'sp,.a;
4 tfrec large public utility plants. each
sis still operating independent OF the
4 others Similarly. although it is gem
& orally recognized that there is close
;@sreTation Between the uniformed forces
81 Of the Police and Fire Departments
he public safety branch of the gov
~ ernment--the Police Department is as