Normally, we wouldn't favor a Monroe city committee passing along a matter to the full Common Council without a recommendation. The committee structure is in place for a reason - to have a smaller group of aldermen, with a knowledge or interest in specific areas of city government, debate issues and send recommendations to the council. A committee does the leg work of researching and discussing a matter, and the council confirms or denies its findings.
But the decision Tuesday by the city's Salary and Personnel Committee regarding a proposed new administrative position at City Hall was the correct one. The committee didn't make a recommendation. Instead, it turned the discussion over to the full council so all 10 aldermen could have input. A special meeting on the matter has been scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday, July 29, at City Hall.
Clearly, there are at least three competing viewpoints on what should be done with the proposal, and there's plenty of confusion and disagreement. Any recommendation that would come from the five-person committee is certain to be rehashed, and very likely revised, by the council anyway. Better to have all aldermen, and all city wards, represented in the discussion and decision.
In simple terms, the council's three options appear to be:
• To fill the city administrator position for the first time since May 2008.
• To approve a proposed new position with fewer roles and lesser pay than an administrator.
• To not hire any new administrators at City Hall.
City department heads seemed to put the full administrator position back in play with a letter Monday to aldermen and Mayor Ron Marsh. In May, department heads said that given budget constraints, they would be fine if the city did not hire an administrator. On Monday, they said that if the council "wants to move ahead with the recruiting and hiring, a full administrator with previous municipal government experience would be best for the City ..."
Meanwhile, Alderman Mark Coplien made a motion Monday for the council to approve a truncated administrative position with a primary focus on human resource functions at City Hall, along with other responsibilities. His motion never received a second, as discussion turned to a special meeting and further council debate.
Input from department heads should be solicited during Wednesday's meeting. Their insight into how operations are running, and could be run, at City Hall would be helpful to the council and the general public.
Each option should be discussed in terms of the cost and value to city government. The fact that the current part-time mayor is willing to put in extra hours doing much of the work tasked to an administrator should not be a consideration in the discussions. It's time for the council to finally have a meaningful public discussion about what structure is best in the long-term for Monroe.
But the decision Tuesday by the city's Salary and Personnel Committee regarding a proposed new administrative position at City Hall was the correct one. The committee didn't make a recommendation. Instead, it turned the discussion over to the full council so all 10 aldermen could have input. A special meeting on the matter has been scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday, July 29, at City Hall.
Clearly, there are at least three competing viewpoints on what should be done with the proposal, and there's plenty of confusion and disagreement. Any recommendation that would come from the five-person committee is certain to be rehashed, and very likely revised, by the council anyway. Better to have all aldermen, and all city wards, represented in the discussion and decision.
In simple terms, the council's three options appear to be:
• To fill the city administrator position for the first time since May 2008.
• To approve a proposed new position with fewer roles and lesser pay than an administrator.
• To not hire any new administrators at City Hall.
City department heads seemed to put the full administrator position back in play with a letter Monday to aldermen and Mayor Ron Marsh. In May, department heads said that given budget constraints, they would be fine if the city did not hire an administrator. On Monday, they said that if the council "wants to move ahead with the recruiting and hiring, a full administrator with previous municipal government experience would be best for the City ..."
Meanwhile, Alderman Mark Coplien made a motion Monday for the council to approve a truncated administrative position with a primary focus on human resource functions at City Hall, along with other responsibilities. His motion never received a second, as discussion turned to a special meeting and further council debate.
Input from department heads should be solicited during Wednesday's meeting. Their insight into how operations are running, and could be run, at City Hall would be helpful to the council and the general public.
Each option should be discussed in terms of the cost and value to city government. The fact that the current part-time mayor is willing to put in extra hours doing much of the work tasked to an administrator should not be a consideration in the discussions. It's time for the council to finally have a meaningful public discussion about what structure is best in the long-term for Monroe.
