The Washington herald., 1920-12-19
MUNICIPAL COSTS
MUCH REDUCED BY
CITY MANAGERS
Remarkable Efficiency Is
Shown by New Gov
'r ernment.

There are $50 municipalities with
a fpobulation of 100000 persons,
that have adopted the city-manager
plan of government, according to
Harrison Gray Otis, secretary OF
the city Managers Association, who
writes of the tremendous strides
taken in recent years by this form
of government in recent issue of
State Service. Until six years ago
there were but a dozen small towns
in the whole country that had ven-
tured into the limelight by author
( izing their councils to appoint the
chief administrative officer instead
of trusting the ballot box to pro-
duce executive efficiency, he writes.
OF the $50 municipalities in the
United States operating under. or
pledged to, some type of the mana
ger plan. ia have created the. po-
sition of manager by charter, char.
ter anne ndment, or adoption of op-
tional State laws by popular refer
endum, Otis says. Nine more have
b, secured modified manager plans by
similar means, while the remaining
lfifty-seven have officers called man
ayers whose positions and. duties
are established by local ordinance
only fifty of these latter are towns
of less than 10000 population.
For the past three years the
City Managers Association has
made an effort to secure definite,
concise reports as to how the man
ager plan is working out in the
various cities, in what achievements
are to its credit, in what way it has
permitted improved conditions and
how the average citizen looks upon
the innovation" the writer contin-
ues.
Dixie Was the Pioneer.
! THE South has been given first
place in discussing the progress of
the city manager movement for
several reasons: To Dixie belongs
the distinction of appointing the
hrst city manager. of putting into
effect the first three commission
manager charters, of having both
the largest and smallest cities now
operating under this plan. 1t boasts
the State which is credited with
having the largest percentage OF its
population pledged to the plan.
Among Dixie managers are the first
man to enter the new profession and
the one who holds the record of
longest continued service in a single
city. 1t was Southern city OF H.
600 which adopted its commission
manager charter by record ratio
OF Of TO 1, and a neighboring town
OF ll,OOO claims the limelight by
'haVins had 522 applicants for the
position of city manager.
virginia leads the South. 1t inau-
eurNed the manager idea by the
appointment of Charles Z. Ashburner
as general manager of Staunton in
January 1908. Ashburner is now
manager at Norfolk, a CITY whose
population is close to 100000.
AT this time Virginia has seven
teen towns and cities pledged to the
manager idea. OF these nine have
created the position of manager by
adoption of the optional law of 1914
or by special charter. The other
. elsht nave passed ordinances Gre
alng the office of manager. One
NTH OF Nirginia's entire population
i've in city-manager cities. The
cities of Petersburg, Newport News,
Lynchburg and Hampton have voted
for the new plan.
Serious Problems I'm Norfolk.
Few cities have faced moro ser;-
Gus problems of readjustment than
mas Norfolk. The population has
more than doubled and all branches
OF municipal activities have been
taxed to the utmost, yet the record
10 the credit of the new plan is an
enviable. one. Among the high spots
are: A deficit reduction of 5000 900,
Sl'5O0,OOO added to public improve
ments, best paid fire and police de-
partments in the United States, and
hre department on two-platoon sys-
tenn, juvenile court established, four
teen Fairgrounds provided and
teachers salaries increased. Sur
veys have been completed for a
s3,O0O.000 addition to the water
works system. .-
THE paving of forty-threc streets
has been authorized and many of
the contracts completed. Through
cooperation between the city plan
ming commission and the citizens, a
street extension project, which would
ordinarily have cost the city s250.-
600, has been completed at an ex-
pense of 100000. By plans now un-
der way the city will acquire an
proximately fifty acres of land
fronting on deep water valued at
$75O.OOO. The cost of this improve
ment will not exceed $3.50, 900, Ieay-
ing a net gain of 100000 and re.
quiring only the construction of a
pier to make the whole property
available for shipping purposes.
Politics Thrown Out.
| "A Norfolk editorial sums up the
situation: Having outgrown her old
unsteady form of government, Nor
folk discarded 1t and evolved a bet
/ ter one. At last 1t seems that in
one American city at least the play
ing of politics in municipal govern
ment has been abandoned"
In the city of Portsmouth, with n
population of 80. 900, a saving of
$4,000 was made during the first
1 year, notwithstanding war condi-
tions, Otis continues, in spite of
the fact that expenses had Increased
enormously during the second year,
the city broke even. Annexation Of
territory increased the population
by $4,000 and added property values
to the amount of $6,O00,0O0. Vast
improvements were made here at
prices lower than usually charged.
/ which condition prevails in most
| cities and towns under similar gov
ernment, ne says.
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