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Council-Manager/

Administrator Government

Professional Management

Makes the Difference presentation by

Dave Mora

ICMA Senior Advisor/State Liaison

before the

Maui Special Committee on County Governance

December 10, 2015

Dave Mora

ICMA Senior Advisor/State Liaison

• 35 years’ experience in California local government, including serving as manager of 3 communities, 2 with directly-elected mayors.

• Former president of ICMA and City Managers’ Department of the League of California Cities.

• Former chairperson of ICMA Retirement Corporation board. Also served on Public Entity Risk Institute and National Academy of Public Administration boards.

About ICMA

• Founded in 1914 as professional organization for appointed local government managers.

• Currently nearly 10,000 members.

• Includes 4,600 city, town, or county managers and senior-level assistant/deputy managers.

• Decisions made by ICMA members affect millions of individuals in thousands of communities.

About ICMA

• Mission: To create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional local government management worldwide.

• Premier local government leadership and management organization.

• Origins in the council-manager form of government.

ICMA Code of Ethics• ICMA members agree to subscribe to a

stringently-enforced Code of Ethics.

• Code established in 1924, is periodically

updated, and ensures the professional and

personal integrity of ICMA members.

• Code also requires members to commit to a

minimum of 40 hours of continuing education

and professional development each year.

Maui Special Committee on

County Governance• Current council-mayor form of government

vests legislative power in the council and

executive power in the mayor.

• Committee to consider the merits of a

county manager form of government.

• Today’s topic: Council-Manager Form of

Government.

County/City Comparisons for

Council Manager/Administrator• Maui County Government role and

responsibilities differ somewhat from

mainland counties.

• Mainland cities are responsible for

providing many of the services provided

by Maui County

• Reviewing county and city governance

models is appropriate.

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

C-M/Admin. (42%)

County Commission

(35%)

Council-Elected Executive

(23%)

Form of Government Among Counties w/Populations > 50,000

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Council-Mgr./Admin. (42%)

County Commission (36%)

Council-Elected Executive (22%)

Form of Government Among U.S. Counties withPopulations > 50,000

0 50 100 150 200 250

Council-Mgr./Admin. (45%)

County Commission (29%)

Council-Elected Executive (26%)

Form of Government Among U.S. Counties withPopulations > 100,000

Fast Facts

• Nearly 45% of the 527 U.S. counties with

populations of 100,000 and greater

operate under the council-manager/

administrator form.

• 29% in that population range operate

under county commission form.

• 26% operate under the council-elected

executive structure.

U.S. Council Manager/Council

Administrator Counties

• El Dorado County, Calif. (pop. 181,737)

• Imperial County, Calif. (pop. 176,584)

• Arlington County, Va. (pop. 224,906)

• Carroll County, Md. (pop. 167,564)

• Catawba County, N.C. (pop. 154,810)

• Kings County, Calif. (pop. 150,960)

• Pueblo County, Colo. (pop. 161,451)

U.S. Council-Manager Cities

• Oxnard, Calif. (pop. 203,007)

• Newport News, Va. (pop. 182,020)

• Santa Clarita, Calif. (pop. 179,590)

• Vancouver, Wash. (pop. 164,759)

• Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (pop. 172,389)

• Salinas, Calif. (pop. 155,662)

• Fort Collins, Colo. (pop. 152,061)

Recent Structure Changes/

Attempted Changes

• 2010—Luzerne County, Penn. (pop. 320,103)

adopted CM/CAO form.

• 2012—McHenry County, Ill. (pop. 307,409)

retained county admin. position.

• 2014—Capital City Sacramento, Calif. (pop.

479,686) retained CM/CAO (third attempt).

• 2013—Capital City Columbia, S.C. (pop.

133,358) retained CM/CAO.

Current City-County CAO Salaries

• Average base salary for all U.S. city

CAOs = $125,000.*

• Average base salary for all U.S. county

CAOs = $140,000.*

• Average base salary for all U.S. CAOs in

Maui pop. range (100,000-249,000) =

$208,575 (city); $167,682 (county).**2015 data

Benefits of Council-Manager/

Administrator Government• Elected officials focus on community

needs and policy development/adoption

and are directly accountable to residents.

• Manager/administrator focuses on policy

implementation and is accountable to

elected officials in that role.

• Flexible enough to adapt to local needs.

Benefits of Council-Manager/

Administrator Government

• National Civic League’s Model City Charter draws clear distinction between policy role of the elected body and administrative role of manager. NCL continues to endorse CM/CAO form today.

Council-Manager/Administrator

Form Best Practices

• Power and policy making concentrated in

entire elected body.

• Elected officials free to devote time to policy visioning and development.

• Manager/administrator carries out policies established by elected officials.

Best Practices (cont’d.)

Role of Mayor/Chair/Chief Elected Official• Serves as recognized head of city/county

government for all ceremonial purposes.

• Presides at council/governing body meetings.

• Represents city/county in intergovernmental

relations.

• Appoints advisory boards and commissions

(with advice/consent of council).

• Presents annual state of city/county message.

Best Practices (cont’d.)Role of the Mayor and Council• Establishes policy direction for the community.

• Adopts all policy documents for the community

including: strategic plan, general plan, zoning

and building codes, budgets, and all ordinances

and resolutions.

• Hires the manager/administrator.

• Holds manager/administrator accountable for

policy implementation.

Best Practices (cont’d.)

Role of Appointed Manager/Administrator

• Manager/administrator responsible for budget preparation/presentation to governing body.

• Directly responsible for administration of budget as approved by governing body.

• Has full authority for appointment/removal of at least most of principle department heads.

• Attends all council meetings. Can discuss but cannot vote on issues.

Best Practices (cont’d.)

• Manager/administrator appointed based on

professional experience, managerial

qualifications, and education.

• Increasingly, professional managers

possess a master’s degree or higher (66%

in 2012), most often in public administration.

• Political affiliations do not influence

appointment.

Best Practices (cont’d.)• 94% of all U.S. counties and 72% of all U.S. cities

report presiding officer is member of commission/

council.

• 87% of all counties and 86% of all cities with CAO

report that commission/council or commission/

council + presiding officer appoints that position.

• Only 1% of counties and 4% of cities report that

presiding officer alone appoints CAO.

• Only 4% of all counties and 27% of cities report that

presiding officer has veto authority.

CM/CAO Form Can Be FlexibleBest Practice CM/CAO

Options (Most functional

& professional)

• Manager/administrator

appointed by elected

body as a whole.

• Manager/administrator

solely responsible for

hiring and firing non-

elected department

heads.

Alternative CM/CAO

Options for Maui County

• Manager/administrator

appointed by elected

mayor subject to elected

body approval.

• Manager/administrator

appoints non-elected

department heads subject

to elected body approval.

Manager-Administrator Recruitment/

Appointment Process

• The governing body has three options for

conducting recruitment. It can:

– Conduct the recruitment in-house.

– Retain an outside party to conduct the

recruitment.

– Use a hybrid approach and conduct the

recruitment in conjunction with outside party.

Manager-Administrator Recruitment/

Appointment Process

Key Elements

• Develop manager/administrator profile.

• Determine whether/how to engage

community in profile development.

• Establish compensation.

• Develop recruitment schedule.

Manager-Administrator Recruitment/

Appointment Process

Key Elements (cont’d.)

• Determine geographic scope (nationwide,

statewide, or regional).

• Develop advertising/outreach strategy.

• Identify applicant relations strategies (how

candidate will be notified of status and how

confidentiality will be ensured).

Manager-Administrator Recruitment/

Appointment Process

Key Elements (cont’d.)

• Brief media on timing and steps involved in

overall process.

• Review applications (either elected body,

recruitment firm, or both).

• Identify which candidates to interview.

• Interview candidates.

Manager-Administrator Recruitment/

Appointment Process

Key Elements (cont’d.)

• Make final selection.

• Negotiate compensation.

• Announce candidate selection to

community.

“Value Proposition” of Council

Manager/Administrator

Government• Council-manager/administrator form

encompasses a set of professional

values, skills, and practices that ensure

the success of the cities and counties

that use it.

“Value Proposition” of Council

Manager/Administrator

Government1. Elected officials collectively focus on

public policy and community priorities.

2. Elected officials appoint professional

manager who focuses on policy

implementation and is accountable to the

elected officials.

How We Know Council-Manager/

Administrator Government Works

• 73% of communities recognized with coveted All-

America City Award between 2008 and 2012 are

run by professional local government managers.

• A February 2011 study by IBM Global Business

Services found that cities that operate under the

council-manager form of government are nearly

10 percent more efficient than those that operate

under the mayor-council form.

For more information, contact:

Kevin Duggan, ICMA West Coast

Regional Director

kduggan@icma.org; 202-962-3583

Dave Mora, ICMA Senior Advisor/

State Liaison

dmora@icma.org; 831-737-8133

http://icma.org

For more information, contact:ICMA

777 North Capitol Street, NE

Suite 500

Washington, D.C. 20002-4201

Michele Frisby

(mfrisby@icma.org; 202-962-3658) or

Jared Dailey

(jdailey@icma.org; 202/962-3557)