The Personnel Committee tabled the proposal until it could learn more about the split of duties and cost savings of switching to a city administrator-mayor system.
STEVENS POINT − Could the city of Stevens Point see major changes to its system of government?
District 1 Alderperson Marc Christianson has proposed changing from a form of government that has a full-time elected mayor at the helm to a one that operates with an appointed city administrator and an elected mayor.
The proposal was discussed during a meeting of the city’s Personnel Committee Monday night, with many committee members discussing the benefits of moving to the alternate form of city leadership.
The proposal includes a salary of about $140,000 for the proposed city administrator position, and a total benefits package of about $195,000.
But after discussion and hearing from other city leaders, the committee members decided to pause on a decision until they learned more information about what the split of duties between the city administrator and mayor would look like, what benefits such a change would bring to the city, and if there would be any cost savings from making such a move.
Stevens Point Police Chief Bob Kussow was one of a handful of city staff members and community members who spoke about the proposal and urged the committee to look at the costs or cost savings of such a change. Kussow brought up the tight city budget that has kept him from hiring the police officers he already has approval for for his department. He also told the committee that he was told he would have to go to referendum to hire those additional officers at this time − something the Stevens Point Fire Department has already had to turn to for the November election.
“Please do your due diligence to make sure the other departments wouldn’t see budget cuts; make sure the savings are there,” Kussow urged the committee.
District 7 Alderperson Mary Kneebone argued the change would make the city the most cost-effective and streamlined and would allow the city to be best situated to respond to unexpected situations as they come up “in these challenging time,” she said. “This is not about personalities.”
Christianson said he has been pushing for a city administrator position in Stevens Point even before he was appointed to the City Council in 2021. “I think it would be a major benefit to the city,” he said.
District 2 Alderperson Jacqui Guthrie said an appointed city administrator would allow the city to hire a non-political leader for the city and urged committee members to take their time in making their decision and moving forward with a transition, if that is what they were in favor of.
“It’s a very large change that would need a delicate transition,” Guthrie said. “City staff and the community would need time to adapt to the change.”
Kneebone credited voters for doing a good job in selecting their elected leaders over the years, but added that the council needs “to look for ways to bring the most expertise we can to the staff,” she said, adding that the council should also look at other elected city staff positions and decide if appointing those positions would benefit the city.
Mayor Mike Wiza noted that Stevens Point has shifted to a city administrator form of government in the past, but it has always been short-lived. “It’s not a new concept,” he said, “but they have always gone back to a mayor.”
He told the committee that the first question they should be asking themselves is “Why? What is not working now that should be working? And then ask, how? … What is the benefit of changing the position?”
The committee plans to discuss the proposal again at its August meeting, when they expect to have job descriptions from other municipalities that have a city administrator-mayor system of government. Committee members also plan to reach out to municipalities that have switched from an elected mayor to a city administrator-mayor system to ask why they made the transition, what benefits or pitfalls they have seen, and what the financial impacts have been.
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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.
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Source Link: https://www.stevenspointjournal.com/story/news/local/2024/07/09/stevens-point-committee-debates-benefits-of-switching-to-city-administrator-mayor-form-of-government/74333663007/
The Personnel Committee tabled the proposal until it could learn more about the split of duties and cost savings of switching to a city administrator-mayor system. STEVENS POINT − Could the city of Stevens Point see major changes to its system of government? District 1 Alderperson Marc Christianson has proposed changing from a form of …
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