Daphne’s city government is not operating at the peak efficiency needed, as state and federal funds dry up.

While this is probably not a great surprise to those who follow city government, the citizens of Daphne should demand no less from their elected officials. A solution lies in changing our form of government.  Changing the mayor’s position from full time to part time offers many benefits, including breaking the current logjam between the mayor and city council.

Before getting to those benefits, it might be helpful to look back and see how we got here.  Small cities in Alabama operate under a strong mayor, weak council format. The mayor sits on the council, chairs it and has a vote. This is the form of government Daphne had until the 2004 election. 

Once Daphne crossed the population threshold of 12,000, Alabama law requires city government to form a weak mayor, strong council, whereby the mayor no longer sits on the council. He has veto power, but no vote. Council meetings are chaired by a rotating council president.

The current impasse at City Hall originated at the close of the past term in 2008. (This account is my view of the events and is not intended to endorse either the mayor’s or the council’s position.) There was a grievance filed by a city employee and the city council serves as judge and jury in such cases. I only sat in on one session before my term expired, but the hearings went on well into the spring. I remember driving by City Hall late one Wednesday night in early 2009 and the parking lot was full.

There were at least eight to 10 sessions like that lasting well into the night before the council decided the case. Not long afterward, the council stripped the mayor of his ability to hire and fire department heads for the city. Now, candidates for any such open positions must be interviewed and approved by the city council as a whole — not an effective process. 

This leaves the city in a situation where the council is acting in executive, judicial, and legislative roles all at the same time. For short periods and under unusual circumstances, this action might be necessary, but the only end to the current situation appears to be the next elections in 2012. This is too long of a time for city government to operate in this manner. It places unfair burdens on the individual council members who serve in part-time roles, and on the mayor who is being paid a full-time salary for a restricted job.

It is also not good for communication between city employees and the council. When I served on the council, I learned that council members do not supervise city employees. That is currently the mayor’s role.  One of the most valuable parts of city council meetings, from my perspective, is when the various department heads report to the council. Yet, for much of this term, department heads have not been giving regular reports. 

All this is not to say that good things are not happening in Daphne.  Thanks to the many good city employees who perform their jobs every day, the city continues to operate despite tight budget constraints. But Daphne must do better and the citizens deserve no less than the best in the tough financial times ahead.

The key to operating better is having a part-time mayor. Regardless of the outcome of the next city election, knowing ahead of time that the mayor’s position will be more of a ceremonial role will change the dynamic between the mayor and council. Instead, day-to-day executive powers can reside in a full-time city administrator who would be the chief operating officer for the city. The way to make this happen is a 2011 special referendum for the citizens of Daphne to vote for a council-manager form of government.

The benefits of this model are many, but here are just three: r Such a form of government opens up the position of mayor to many more citizens. Competition is a good thing — and think of how many more people would run for mayor if it was a part time job.

Today, as a full-time job, only a retiree or someone with a very flexible work schedule can even consider running. Opening the position up to more people will bring out many more talents and ideas and engage more citizens in the next election.

• The city administrator will be a full-time professional. I’ll get into more detail about this position in part two of this commentary in two weeks, but we need look no farther than Foley as a model for this form of government. They have been running smoothly and happily with an administrator for many years, without the noticeable rancor present in two of the Eastern Shore municipalities.
• Let the City Council be the City Council. Without power plays and political competition with the position of mayor, the council can get back to its proper legislative role. Everyone in city government will benefit from a less political atmosphere and greatly improved communications.

Let’s have a referendum in 2011, vote to have a part-time mayor and city administrator form of government, break the current logjam in city politics, and make Daphne the best city it can possibly be.

Eric Nager is an investment advisor in Daphne, and a former member of the Daphne City Council from 2007-2008.