Manager or mayor? Polson voters to pick form of government

When Polson voters go to the polls Nov. 7, more than just candidates will be at stake.

Voters will also be asked to decide whether they want to move to a city manager/council form of government — a change that was narrowly defeated 10 years ago.

The Montana Constitution mandates that cities appoint a government study commission to evaluate the city's government once every 10 years, and the local commission has been studying Polson's current form of government — a mayor/council — for the past 18 months.

The commission is recommending that the city hire a city manager, and convert to a "charter" form of government, which would drastically reduce the powers of the mayor. Under that scenario, the city manager would be largely responsible for running the day-to-day operations, while the mayor would still preside over meetings but have little authority in running the city.

"Under this scenario, the mayor would be more of a figurehead," said Dave Rensvold, who heads the study commission. "The city manager would be responsible for running the city, much like a business, but he would still have to answer to the council."

The commission is also made up of Elsa Duford, Gayle Siemers, Nathan Pierce and Ryan Avison.

Rensvold said the commission's recommendation isn't due to any dissatisfaction with the current council or mayor, but simply that Polson is growing, and a city manager would be better able to plan for and manage current and future growth and related issues.

"We really felt our current government is performing well because of the people running it. But what the charter [form of government] does for us is create opportunity and efficiency," he said. "We really lack the ability to plan right now because of the workload that's right before them [the council and mayor]."

Voters denied the charter form in 1996 by a mere 16 votes, but the city's needs — especially planning — have increased substantially since then, Rensvold said.

If approved, there would be several changes under the charter form of government. First and foremost, the council would be responsible for hiring the city manager, and that could cost taxpayers $60,000-$80,000 for someone with relevant experience, Rensvold said.

A city manager would have to go before the council for approval of major decisions, and can be fired by the council, with a majority vote, Rensvold said.

The benefits of the charter form are that it would more specifically outline the city's duties and obligations to its citizens, and better define the city attorney's role. It would also take some of the politics out of running the city because the manager isn't an elected official, Rensvold said.

Some cities with charter forms have been able to assume larger responsibilities, too. Libby, for example, runs its own utility company, while another generates its own power with a turbine it owns, he noted.

"They cannot do that except for the fact that they run a charter," Rensvold said.

However, charter forms do not enable a city to give itself more taxation powers, for example, or other powers not specified in the state constitution, he noted.

"We can't do anything the state says we can't do," Rensvold said.

Several things would stay the same under the charter form. There would still be a six-member council — two from each ward — and a mayor, but the council would work directly with the city manager on most issues.

If the charter form is approved by voters, the current mayor, Randy Ingram, would still be able to finish out his term before any changes would take place, Rensvold said.

In an interview last week, Ingram was hesitant to endorse one form over the other, saying he wanted to let the voters decide, but he did say the demands on the mayor's job have increased dramatically over the years. A city manager would take over those day-to-day planning and operational duties, Rensvold said.

Ingram currently earns about $27,000 a year, after the council voted in 2004 to pay a salary more in line with a full-time job. The raise was substantially more than what the job previously paid, prompting criticism from several citizens who claimed that the raise wasn't advertised enough by the city.

However, in responding to that criticism in a meeting earlier this year, Ingram asked the council to reduce his salary if they felt it was not justified, and the council took no action to do so, saying in effect that the position requires day-to-day responsibilities in managing the city's affairs.

In years past, the mayor's job was considered to be part-time, with more limited duties, but the raise reflected the increased responsibility, especially with growth issues, Ingram said in an interview earlier this year. He reiterated that last week, saying that regardless of whether voters decide to keep the current form or go with a city manager, the job comes with much more responsibilities than it did in year's past.

A city manager would assume most of those responsibilities, although it doesn't necessarily mean the elimination of other jobs like the city planner and treasurer, Rensvold said.

The commission feels like it's a good model to recommend to voters based on its evaluation of other cities with the same type of government.

"We looked at several cities in Montana with charter forms, and interviewed their city managers. This is not a unique format," he said. "You go to a state like Washington and every city has a city manager."

The primary drawback, however, would be the cost to taxpayers in the form of the manager's salary, Rensvold noted. Other city managers in Western Montana make between $50,000-80,0000. A larger city like Kalispell, for example, had several candidates turn down the job a couple of years ago, saying the $65,000 being offered was too low.

"Ultimately, it's up to the city council to set that wage," Rensvold said, "but yes, that's something voters will have to think about."

He said regardless of the outcome, Montanans are fortunate to have so much say in their local government.

"We are the only state in the U.S. that does this, that has the opportunity to make changes to city government every 10 years," he said.

Rensvold said the commission will be mailing out an informational brochure to voters sometime this month, and he urged voters to get in touch with him if they have any questions. He can be reached during work hours at 883-4099.