The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-28
The City Council
Courtesy Title of Mayor" Given to Chairman Functions Between Council, Manager Clearly De6ned-Civl Service or Merit System Listed as
 Added Feature".

Municipal forms of government are compared to machinery, which must be we'll constructed to func- ton properly and to achieve the best results, in the fourth of ser- les of articles published by the Good Government Association in its cam paign for the City Manager Plan. The article explains the City Coun- cil, the Mayor, the City Manager, the Civil Service commission and the Budget. It reads as follows:
 ARTICLE "
 GEARS, LEVERS, and CONTROLS
 A form of government has some resemblance to piece of machinery. Let us look at some of the constitu- ent parts of the City Manager Plan.
 The City Council
 This body is small in numbers as compared with the usual ward coun- cil. The most common number is five with seven and nine members next in order of frequency.
 There is @ clear division of func- ton between the council and the manager. The council is responsible for the entire city government both in making policies and in carrying them out. But while 1t is responsible for carrying out policies, no member does any administrative work. In- deed the plan demands that no in- dividual councilman shall interfere with, give orders to, or ask favors of anyone concerned with adminis- tration, from the manager down through all ranks of the day la borers.
 Under the control of the council are all concerns of general public interest, such as policing, traffic regulations, public health, fire pro- lection and prevention. It passes upon all local Improvements.
 The Mayor
 The chairman Of the council Is given the courtesy title of mayor. He is elected as @ councilman and chosen from among his fellows. His only duties are, practically speaking, cere- monial, for he is the official well conner of conventions and visiting celebrities. But unofiicially he can become a great political force, in the best sense of the word, in the com- munity. He is looked to for leader ship in plans for progres or re- trenchrnent and "sells" ideas to the people and to his council. It is a position long needed in public life for 1t offers to the born leader chance to lead without entailing the drudgery of detail that an executive office requires.
 The City Manager
 This official is literally a servant, but 6 chief servant, for he has defi- nite responsibility for the adminis- tration of the city government. He appoints, and if necessary removes, the heads Of departments. They in turn appoint subordinates, though they can appoint only those certified as competent by the civil service system.
 The manager should have had ex- perience in municipal service. There should be no restriction on his place of residence at the time of appoint ment. The important thing is to get a capable man.
 Tn a small city the manager is usually an engineer. This gives the town the opportunity to use him as 8 general co-ordinator and also to use his special skill on problems con- nected with street Improvements, sewerage, water systems, and public works. The larger cities tend to demand especially knowledge of mu- nicipal finance when choosing 8 manager.
 Whatever the size of the city the manager must have tact and good humor. 4 few men can be said to have failed because, while they ball. anced the budget and gave economi- cal service, in dealing with com- plaints they were not able to suffer fools gladly"
 Civil Service Commission
 While all manager cities do not have a civil service commission they do have, except possibly Kansas City, what is better described as the merit system" In fact, unless Q civil serv- ice commission is SO organized and