Major changes in how local government does business are coming if the city adopts recommendations made at Monday’s City Council meeting.

The recommendations were presented by Charles Zunk, chairman of the city’s new Governmental Structure Committee. He highlighted six of 14 recommendations in the committee’s final report, ranging from making city financial reports easier to read to separating the positions of mayor and superintendent of utilities.

“If we want to be in control of our future then we need to plan for it,” Zunk said. “It’s possible that we’re going to wake up one day and find ourselves in a hole that’s hard to get out of.”

The report’s “key recommendations” were summarized in a section called Charting a Course for the Future:

• Develop summarized, easy-to-read financial reports emphasizing graphs, trends and key performance indicators instead of traditional line-by-line detail.

• Develop a 36- to 48-month projection of revenues, expenses, capital requirements and priorities and sources/uses of cash.

• Initiate a strategic planning process, using a consultant if necessary to get started. Follow Government Finance Officers Association “Best Practices Guidelines.”

• Initiate all large requests for capital through the strategic planning process, and defer all large requests until a 36-month financial projection is done.

• The provision in the city code that requires the mayor to serve as superintendent of utilities should be repealed, and the positions of mayor and utility superintendent should be separated, effective immediately following the municipal election of August 2012. However, we further recommend that this ordinance … not be enacted until after the municipal election of August 2008 to allow ample time for orderly transition planning, professional compensation and benefits analysis, public comment and the opportunity for citizens and elected officials to discuss this issue during an election cycle.

• The City Council should retain its financial control and oversight responsibilities for the city utilities. Because the unique nature of the utilities as major profit-generating businesses and the significant contribution the utilities profit makes to the governmental funds, the Council should increase the amount of time it allocates to this function.

Zunk said the final report was prepared based on research including six public meetings with two public hearings, and interviews with the mayor and City Council members and most other city department heads, and several relevant professional organizations.

“Everyone we talked to was extremely cooperative,” he said. Zunk also recognized the other members of the committee in the audience: Dennis Frodsham, Harvey Joanning, Ed Lawrence, Ron Muschel and Rod Platt.

All members of the City Council praised the committee’s work, except for City Councilman Mike Ford, who said in a work session before the meeting that he had not had an opportunity to read the entire final report.

“Change is always difficult,” Councilman Dan Stankoski said. “But we need to look forward. Staying in the same pattern might be comfortable but might not make it better.”

Stankoski also suggested that copies of the report be put in the city library. Zunk said that had already been done, and that a copy of the report was available on the city’s Web site.

“You’ve been able to see some things that we’ve been struggling with,” Council Chairman Bob Gentle said. “This will not just go on the shelf. I do expect a lot of input from the public.”

Ater the meeting, Zunk said he was pleased with the council’s response, but that the report was just the beginning of the process.

“The easy part is done, and now the hard part of implementing the report is what comes next,” he said. “That has to be done by the city staff and elected officials who have the power to make it happen.”

In other business, the council:

• Approved the minutes of the Sept. 24 regular meeting.

• Heard a report by Public Works Director Jennifer Fidler on the transition to automated trucks to pickup garbage in the city.

She reported that the total cost for manual twice-a-week pick up in 2005 was $889,000 compared to the cost from May 2006 to May 2007 for automated pickup of $504,495.

Fidler said that the city has three automated trucks now and needs one more, which would cost $190,000 plus one driver at $50,000 for a total of $240,000.

“The guys are working 12- to 16-hour days, so they’re really needing another truck out there,” she said.

Mayor Tim Kant said the additional truck and driver had been included in the city’s new budget.

• Approved the acceptance of a bid for fountain aerators at Quail Creek Golf Course. The $8,340 bid was by Beard Equiment Co. City Treasurer Nancy Wilson reported that the aerators will cut down on mosquitos in the fountains.

• Approved the acceptance of a bid for aeration tank cleaning for the waste water treatment plant. The bid accpepted was for $48 per ton plus a $3,500 equipment fee. The estimated cost, based on 300 tons, was $17,900.

• Issued a proclamation announcing Oct. 7-13, as Public Power Week. Mayor Kant read the proclamation which stated that “Public Power Week is in recognition of our electric employees who work together to provide the best possible electric service for our citizens and community.”

As part of the announcement, Jeremy Morgan of the city’s electric department presented a report on the history and services of electric utilities in Fairhope.

He said that Fairhope Electric was established in 1916. He reported that a proposal made to the City Council a year earlier was for an electric light plant with a 1000-light capacity costing $1,000 with a cost of one dollar per month to each resident. The audience laughed when he read from a PowerPoint slide that said the then-Mayor “stated that this would get rid of kerosene cans and oil lamps and would put Fairhope on the map.”

Also in celebration of Public Power Week, Electric Department Superintendent Aaron Norris announced that there would be a pubilc picnic and demonstration this Thursday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the south end beach at municipal pier park. He said there would be hot dogs and that department staff would be there with utility trucks to answer questions and provide tips on energy conservation.