Local News
Thursday, March 11, 2010
City manager decision nearingSTAFF WRITER
Fostoria Charter Commission members are getting closer to a decision on whether to put the city manager form of government back on the ballot in November.
The 15-member commission, appointed by the mayor and city council, has been meeting since the first of the year to review the charter and decide what changes to put before voters in November.
At its meeting Wednesday, members agreed the commission cannot move forward with discussing other changes to the charter before deciding what type of government structure to recommend.
The commission will bring in experts to speak on the city manager form of government at its next meeting March 24.
John Goetherman, Columbus attorney who helped write the charter, will be asked to offer his input. Commission members also asked to hear from representatives of nearby city manager governments, such as Bowling Green.
Some charter commission members said the city manager form was likely defeated in the last election because the issue was rushed. Jerry Nelson, commission member, said he believes voters were flooded with information from supporters of both sides of the issue and were given conflicting information at times.
At the time of the last election, city council had supported the change, but Mayor John Davoli had said he wanted the issue to be reviewed by the charter commission before changes were made.
Some commission members are hopeful voters would support the change in the next election if the issue is given time and more clear information is presented.
The commission could look to other cities, Nelson said.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “The wheel’s out there somewhere. We just need to go there, find it, copy it, and make it fit our mold.”
About 73 percent of Ohio cities have a city manager, he said.
Jim Schreck said he doesn’t want to lose a system of checks and balances by switching to the city manager form.
“I think we’re going to concentrate power in one leg of the stool,” he said. Under the city manager form, council might appoint the city manager, law director and director of finance, the latter two which are now elected positions.
Residents would likely still vote for a mayor who would have more of a ceremonial role, said Tim Burns, commission chairman.
Those in favor of the city manager position want to ensure the city leader has strong financial and negotiation skills.
Dan Steinacker said the city needs an appointed well-trained business person to serve as city manager, otherwise the city is faced with having a novice leader every four years with mayoral elections.
Other members said with Fostoria facing increased financial hardship as a result of decreased revenue, they want to make sure the leadership is capable of guiding the city.
In order to also ensure city council is led by an experienced person, Steinacker suggested the council president be required to serve for one term on council before running for that position.
Schreck suggested a third option could be keeping the strong mayor form of government but expanding the role of safety service director to give the position more job security. Under the current charter, the safety service director can be fired by the mayor without council approval.
Recommendations for changes to the charter will be put on the November ballot.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
Fostoria, OH 44830
The Findlay Publishing Company
P.O. Box 609
Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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