City manager a CEO, not a politician

The Greeley Chamber of Commerce Local Government Business Affairs Committee decided a year ago to tackle the issue of removing the city-manager retention vote from the City of Greeley Charter in the Nov. 3 election.

Back in 1969, a group of Greeley citizens dissatisfied with then-City Manager Ben Cruce’s management style and abilities determined that a retention vote should be added to the Home Rule Charter. In November 1971, Cruce was voted out as Greeley’s city manager (4,136 not to retain and 3,622 to retain), in the first use of that charter amendment.

Since then, all five city managers up for the retention vote have kept their jobs with high percentages of favorable votes.

Greeley’s city manager is up for election every six years, but he or she is forbidden to do any campaigning because it violates the professional standards in the International City County Management Association ethics policy.

Research has shown that we may be the only community in the country that still has this outdated ordinance.  Jordan Valley, Ore., had indicated on a survey it “elected” its city manager. When asked for clarification, officials explained that they “advertise and hire for the position.”

Our city manager may be removed from his or her position by a majority vote of the city council. The retention-vote requirement undermines our mayor/council form of government.  Our elected officials are the ones to address any performance concerns with a city manager who is not meeting the established standards of the position.

We need our city manager to focus on doing his or her administrative job, rather than making it a political position because of the retention vote.

The elimination of the retention vote places control of the city-manager position in the hands of Greeley’s elected city council who are most knowledgeable with the actual performance of the city manager. The city council finds and hires the city manager from qualified applicants. The city council can remove a city manager from his or her position with a majority vote at any time. The retention vote destabilizes the city council’s ability to oversee the city-manager position. The city council should be held accountable for the city manager position, not the public. After all, registered voters have oversight of the city council – so, in a way, they already have oversight of the city manager.

Citizens may not be as informed on the qualifications and work of a particular city manager, especially if there is not a campaign, and thus might be susceptible to vote in a way that is harmful to the community. If citizens are uninformed on the work of a city manager, a vote “safely” in favor of retention could be overridden by the city council should it decide to fire the city manager six months later for poor work performance. This scenario would make the retention vote obsolete.

Our city manager functions as the chief executive officer of the city of Greeley; let our city Board of Directors (City Council) oversee the position, evaluate on performance and determine the best course of action. Don’t put our city manager in a political position with his or her hands tied.

This discussion is not about our current city manager; it is about educating our residents on an outdated process that no longer serves a purpose. Bottom line: If you are unhappy with the city manager’s performance, talk to your city council representative!

We hope you will join us this November election to support the elimination of the retention vote requirement. Let this responsibility rest with the city council members.

Sarah MacQuiddy, president of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce, can be reached at 970-352-3566 or via email at sarah@greeleychamber.com.

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