The committee studying city charters and forms of city government has come to the following conclusions:
The commission form of city government, after a fifty-year trial is no longer in favor. Few cities, at the present time, adopt commission government.
The two remaining forms of municipal government: mayor-council and council-manager (sometimes called city manager government) have more similarities than differences. Both forms concentrate the responsibility for the administration of the government in the hands of the chief executive officer, who has large appointive powers.
In mayor-council government, the mayor is an elected official, who may or may not have executive ability. He can, however, appeal from the decisions of the council, to the people who elect them both, thus preserving the traditional American balance of power between the executive and the legislative branches.
On the other hand, the manager is appointed, or "hired", by the council which may dismiss him at will. He has no appeal to the voters. However, he is a professional administrator, trained in municipal management. While he is bound to carry out the policies of the council, the rules forbid the council's interference in the actual running of the organization, and there is no incentive to make "political" appointments. Responsibility for policies is clearly traced to the council and there can be no "buck-passing" between the legislative and executive branches.
October 1951
December 1951