Opinion ID: 1834498
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Office of Commonwealth Mayor

Text: Article IV of the charter provides for the creation of a commonwealth mayor. Among other functions, the mayor would hold the power to: (1) preside over the Commonwealth Council; (2) recommend appointment of the commonwealth manager, legal counsel, and clerk after consulting with the Council; (3) advise the manager during preparation of the annual budget; (4) represent the commonwealth at functions and before organizations and governmental agencies; and (5) appoint the members of all commonwealth boards and commissions subject to consultation with and a majority vote of approval by the Commonwealth Council. The mayor would be elected at large to a four-year term. The Board asserts that the relevant statutes do not authorize the creation of the office of commonwealth mayor and specifically that the creation of such an office violates Iowa Code section 331.261(2) which provides The community commonwealth charter shall provide for the following: ... 2. An elective legislative body established in the manner provided for county boards of supervisors under sections 331.201 through 331.216 and section 331.238. The Board argues that the new form of government must take the form prescribed in sections 331.201 through 331.216 for county boards of supervisors and that the office of mayor violates those provisions. In addition, the Board notes that the Commission proposed legislation in 1993 which would have included an express authorization for the creation of the office of commonwealth mayor. Since the Commission was unsuccessful in its lobbying efforts, the Board claims this indicates the legislature did not favor such an office. Moreover, the Board believes the existing statutory framework does not authorize a commonwealth mayor. The Commission asserts that Iowa Code section 331.238 authorizes the existence of the office of commonwealth mayor. The Commission explains that its unsuccessful legislation proposed making the mayor an entity separate from the Commonwealth Council and since this proposal did not pass, the Commission wrote the charter to include the mayor as part of the Council. The Board argues that the fact that the popularly elected mayor would preside over the council violates Iowa Code section 331.211(1)(a) which requires that a board of supervisors elect a chairperson to preside over its meetings. However, sections 331.238(2)(b) and (d) specifically authorize variations from section 331.211(1)(a). These sections provide: 2. An alternative form of county government... may include provisions for any of the following: .... b. A supervisor representation plan for the county which may differ from the supervisor representation plans as provided in division II, part 1. .... d. The method of selecting officers of the board and fixing their terms of office which may differ from the requirements of sections 331.208 through 331.211. The fact that the mayor may have greater powers than other supervisors in some areas is not fatal to the formulation because section 331.238 specifically provides for [t]he combining of duties of elected officials. There is also no prohibition in sections 331.201 through 331.216 against supervisors holding the authority to perform the functions granted to the mayor. The fact that the Commission failed in its lobbying efforts does not demonstrate that the existing statutes do not authorize the office of commonwealth mayor. We are aware that in the combative and compromising process of legislating there are many reasons for a failure of legislation to pass other than a rejection on the merits. Even without a fortified legislative directive, section 331.238 grants broad authority for alternative forms of government to differ from the prescriptions of sections 331.201 through 331.216 by: (1) including a differing supervisor representation plan; (2) providing a different method for selecting council officers; (3) employing different rules of procedure; and (4) combining the duties of elected officials. Iowa Code §§ 331.238(2)(b), (d), (e), (f). In addition, the last paragraph of section 331.261 provides The community commonwealth charter may include other provisions not inconsistent with state law. Sections 331.238 and .261 indicate an intention to grant the Commission broad powers to craft the new governmental form.