A view from the Council Table

Last Thursday council voted 3-1-1 (councilmembers Barchfeld, Cantu-Kelly, and McCullough voted yay, I voted nay, councilmember Fore abstained) to pull section 4.1 from our governance policy, a section that clarified the mayoral role as having “no regular administrative duties”.

TYPE OF GOVERNMENT

Wimberley has had a council-administrator form of government since incorporation. We have a council of part-time, at-large council policymakers responsible for hiring a full-time professional to manage city business. We also elect an at-large mayor to be head of government for ceremonial purposes and martial law, but who has no administrative duties. The city administrator is the professional we pay to be responsible for carrying out the policies set by council on a day-to-day basis.

BENEFITS

The administrator form of government is similar to a business approach. Stakeholders/Voters/Residents direct Board of Directors/ Mayor and City Council who direct the Chief Executive Administrative Officer/City Administrator who directs Staff.

The council/manager and council/administrator forms of government are the most popular in Texas (and growing) because they provide continuity of ongoing plans and operations through elections, establishes professionalism of department heads and key officials, and minimizes politically motivated decisions in daily operations.

Administrators are valued for their specialized expertise, generally having advanced degrees in administration and on-the-job know-how from working their way up within municipal structures. They’re well versed in financial and legal issues, municipal regulations and processes, management, and more. They are non-partisan and politically neutral, following strict code of ethics that prohibit political involvement, as they advise council on policy and carry out the decisions of council.

CHANGES

Council replaced the entire section 4.1 of the city’s governance code with state statutes defining our mayors’ role. While state statutes already applied to our city (and earlier in the meeting some members of council used this fact to vote to repeal our firearm ordinance, stating repetition “unnecessary”), our municipal leaders had further defined the power and duty of a Wimberley Mayor in our governance policy. The language eliminated was from the National Civic League’s Model City Charter, a blueprint for how municipal governments operate with a council-administrator form of government. The language had been adopted for good reason and with proper public input and review.

CONCERN

Taking away the clarification that the mayor has no administrative power did not automatically give the mayor administrative power. However, the language removed was the first of two steps necessary to change our form of government. Roles and responsibilities within our council-administrator form of government have become a central point of contention within our community over the past few months as Aqua Texas is explored as a wastewater treatment option outside of the proper public policy realm of the council. I am therefore sensitive to any council movement that affects our existing structure, even inadvertently.

It is the city council’s job to direct policy and we have taken no action or direction to officially support changing the scope of our wastewater project. However, the mayor has been performing extensive administration on the wastewater treatment subject (among others) without involving the entire council in public realms. This administration has been performed without the expertise or accountability of our administrator, despite the city resources we’re spending exploring Aqua Texas again.

It is the city administrator’s job to keep council informed. Because meetings with the Texas Water Development Board and Economic Development Administration, among others, are occurring without our administrator, information is being politically controlled. It is the administrator’s job to give directions to city staff, but because development of the Aqua Texas plan is happening without our administrator, we’re seeing politics and administration mix and numerous bosses giving orders.

Finally, it is the administrator’s job to present and evaluate policy, but because the administrator has not been involved, council and the public lack unbiased information regarding Aqua Texas as a viable option. When our chief advisor is in the dark, we lose a valuable source for fact-based decision making.

IMPORTANCE

We are currently operating in grey area in regards to how our municipal government– its structure, responsibilities, functions, and processes. Last Thursday’s change of our governance policy, done without citizen involvement since it was precluded by deficient packet information, removed clarity and damaged trust in our local government.

After spending much of last year searching for the right professional to bring efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity to Wimberley through the role of the council’s chief executive administrative officer, council needs to ensure the administrator can do the job for which he was hired. Whatever happens over the course of the next few weeks, Wimberley is going to need leadership based in municipal administrative expertise more than ever.