Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-11-08
Survey Report Says Present
Triple-Headed Govern
ment Unsatisfactory.
FAVORS ABOLITION OF
ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD
Created to Meet Imaginary Need,
and Quite Unnecessary,
Says Report.
ALTERNATE PLANS PROPOSED
Reviewed and Criticized
i'm Great Detail.

Sweeping changes in the present plan
of municipal government which will
practically revolutionizc tho admins
tration Of Richmonds affairs are pro-
posed in the survey report Of the New
York Bureau Of Municipal Research.
which was filed yesterday with City
Clerk Ben T. August. TO be transmitted
to the Council. The utter lack of CEN
tralizcd executive authority and re-
sponsiblity is the feature Of the report.
which charges that no efficient and
effective administration can be OBJ
taincd under the structural organlZa-
tion OF the existing form OF govern
ment.
Three general serious defects in the
present organization arc pointed out
in the survey. They are the lack of re-
sponsiblity for leadership. a far TOO
complex organization. and the INSULT
cicnt correlation OF related functions.
There are also numerous defects In the
existing plan which are directly at
trIhutablc TO the statutory law OF Nir-
Einia, chief OF which il the ineQuitablc
representation Of the electorate in the
City Council. Another serious defect
is found in the requirements OF the
state Constitution. which provides for
the election of many executive officials
by the people.
AS the first step in obtaining more
efficient government; the bureau recon-
mends the abolition OF the Admins
tratire Board lat the earliest con-
venience." the abolition Of the Board
Of Fire Commissioners and the Board
of Aldermen, the reduction OF the city
Council to nine members. and the abo-
lition OF the office of city sergeant,
coroner apd city collector.
ALL AFFAIRS TO ne
UNDER OPERATING BUREAUS
All affairs of these departments
should be placed under the control OF
several operating bureaus which are
to have charge OF the administration
OF the city's business. while the duties
of several of'the offices recommended
for abolition are to be incorporated
with those OF other city Offices Exccu-
tive, authority should be invested in
the Mayor. who would bc the supreme
head OF the city government The re-
port recommends the appointment OF
city employees only after a competitive
civil service examination. and the heads
OF the nre and police departments to
he named after successfully passing
similar examination.
Three alternative plans are recon-
mendcd by the bureau in lieu OF the
present form Of government, any enc
OF which should be conducive to better
government than can be obtained a.
this time, the report asserts. None of
the plans proposed Is designed exactly
as they should be. because Of the re-
strictions imposed b. the State Con-
stitution. Instead of recommending n
plan which would require constitutional |
amendment. the bureau believes II
more practicable to suggest corrective
measures which conform with the Con-
sttution.
In making the three suggestions. the
bureau made them in what X believed
TO be the sequence OF their individual
merit and their relative fitness to local
conditions in Richmond. They provide
for Mayor and small Council. a COM
mission manager plan and straight
commission form of government.
CENTRALIZEs EXECUTIVE
AUTHORITY IN MAYOR
The first plan centralizes executive
authority and fixes responsibility in
the Mayor. except in so far as the con-
stitutlonal officers must be retained
The Council would be reduced to a
single body composed of nine members,
which Is believed sufficient TO insure
adequate representation in a city the
size of Richmond and continue the
body small enough to enable It to act
as a unit. Every standing committee
should consist Of the entire member
ship OF the Council
In revising the city charter serious
consideration should be given to the
making OF the local government more
truly representative, the report de-
cTares. Under the present plan Of elect
ing members of the Council by wards,
the. minority in each ward has in point
of fact no representation. Such condi-
tions are declared to be undemocratic
and un-American, and b: ccd apathy and
discouragement in the heart of the
voters.
1t is recognized by the bureau that
the adoption Of proportional repre-
sentation by the city OF Richmond
might require constitutional amend
ment. but the subject is Of sufficient
Importance to Justify its inclusion
among the recommendations Of the
survey. If the ward system is con-
tinued, then charter revision should
provide for the election of such a num-
ber Of councilmen at large as will ex-
ceed the number by wards. IL the
four-ward plan is continued, then f1ve
councilmen should be elected at large.
NO OVERLAPPING OF TERMS
IN ORDINANCE-MAKING BODY
In event the proportional represen-
tation suggestion Is not adopted. the
bureau then urges n revision In the
charter to provide for voting on what
is known as the preferential method,
and tho names Of candidates should be
z1--sI-,I.1a ~a NIAvan1h pa1.I