Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-02-05
THE CITY MANAGER

THE CITY MANAGER
Ten cities of 1000 to $4,000
population have adopted the city
manager plan in the last three
months.
Half a hundred cities of more
than 10000 population now have the
! city manager plan written into their
charters.
What the plan accomplishes for
the small city is illustrated by the
experience OF Kalamazoo, Mich.
Kalamazoo is on a sound financial
be sis, with a budget system and up
to. date accounting. The administra-
ton uses one form of bank check
instead of fourteen. as formerly: one
seven; has our bank accounts in
stead of twenty-one; and has the
lowest tax rate of any Michigan
municipality.
The cities which recently have
adopted the plan are Muskegon,
Mich: L~ynchburg and Newport
News, Va; West Palm Beach. San
ford and Tallahassee. Fla; P%ittsburg,
Cal; P~ainesville. Ohio. and Sallisaw
and Walters, Okla.
The government recently held
civil service examinations to fill the
! position of town manager for some
of its wartime Industrial villages
which are being maintained for
peace-tims uses. notably a nitrate
producing community at Muscle
Shoals, Ala.
Next to the city manager plan for
municipalities comes the commission
form of government out of which the
city manager idea has developed.
More and more 1t is being realized
that the running of a municipality
is q strictly business proposition. The
more public affairs can be conducted
as the affairs OF q big corporation are
run the better returns the taxpayers
will get for the money they invest
in the form OF taxes.
1t is ridiculous to think that be-
cause a man happens to be a Repub-
lican or a Democrat he will make
any better mayor or alderman.
Mayor Dorsey, who was elected as
q Democrat, has shown much bust
ness ability In administering city
affairs. Does anyone for an instant
believe that he would be any less
capable as an executive If he bore
the Republican label? Likewise.
would Alderman Wilson, who Is an
other capable city official. be any
different as far as working for the
interests of the city is concerned. If
he were a Democrat instead of a
Republican? Party labels mean
nothing in municipal affairs, except
to identify the men who are to re-
ceive Jobs as a reward for party
H~ervice.
As a matter of fact, there is reason
to believe hat Mayor Dorsey, Alder
mar Wilson and every other city
official would be able to give the city
even better service If, as far as theE
city positions are concerned. there
was no party label attached to them
whatever. Then everything consid-
cred would be solely from the stand
point OF the city as a whole and the
effect that 1t might have on any
party organization would not have to
DO taken into consideration. So,
much of the vigilance that is now
wasted on both sides trying to pre-
vent the opposition from putting
something over could be used eS-
clusively in safeguarding the inter-
ests Of the taxpayers.
Commission government has done
more toward wiping out politics in
municipal affairs than anything else
excepting the city manager plan,
which is still better. Perth Amboy
ought to have a commission form of
government. Later. perhaps. the city
will advance far enough to have a
city manager such rs the progressive
cities mentioned at the beginning now
enjoy. Not until such a time can we
hope to solve many of our present
municipal problems.