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Thecouncil–manager government is a form oflocal government commonly used formunicipalities andcounties in theUnited States[1] andIreland,[2] inNew Zealand regional councils, and inCanadian municipalities.[3][4] In the council-manager government, an electedcity council hires a manager to serve as chiefexecutive; this manager can be replaced by a simple majority at any time.
The council-manager system is similar to the typical governance of apublicly traded corporation.[5] Under the form, an elected governing body, usually called acity council, board ofaldermen, or similar title, is responsible forlegislative functions such as establishingpolicy, passinglocal ordinances, votingappropriations, and developing an overall vision, similar to a corporateboard of directors.[6] The city council is accountable to the citizens of the community they represent, who play a similar role to that of shareholders in a corporation. The council or commission appoints acity manager to oversee the administrative operations, implement its policies, and advise it. The manager position is similar to that of a corporatechief executive officer appointed by a board of directors. The position of "mayor" present in this type of legislative body is a largely ceremonial title, and may be selected by the council from among its members or elected as an at-large council member with no executive functions,[7] similar to a non-executivechairperson in a corporation.
TheInternational City/County Management Association (ICMA), aprofessional organization for city managers, has listed at least three defining characteristics that distinguish a true council–manager government:
As of 2019, it is used in 52.7% of American cities with populations over 10,000.[10]
The concept of the council–manager form of government was a product of a confluence of the prevailing modes of thought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[11] Probably the foremost influence was theProgressive Movement; following along the thought lines of the movement, the municipal reformers of that time wanted to rid municipalities of the pervasive "political machine" form of government and the abuses of thespoils system. The thought was to have a politically impartial administrator or manager to carry out the administrative function.
Staunton, Virginia, is credited as the first American city to appoint a city manager, which it did in 1908.[12] This appointment attracted attention to the fledgling profession and caught the eye ofRichard S. Childs, who would become known as the "father" of the council–manager form of government.[11][13] The first large city to adopt the council–manager form wasDayton, Ohio, in 1913.OhioProgressives organizing for the city manager plan also prioritizedproportional representation with adoption inAshtabula,Cincinnati,Cleveland,Hamilton, andToledo.[14]
The council–manager form of government developed, at least in part, as a response to some perceived limitations of thecity commission government form. Since it relies on candidates being elected at-large, minority populations are often unable to elect candidates of their choice. In addition, it may concentrate too much power in individual commissioners, who also manage city departments. The council–manager form became the preferred alternative for progressive reform. AfterWorld War I, few cities adopted the commission form and many cities using the commission plan switched to the council–manager form.[15]
By 2001 there were 3,302 cities with a population over 2,500 and 371 counties using the council–manager system.Phoenix, Arizona, is the largest city in the United States to retain a council–manager government.[16]
Since the turn of the 21st century, there have been studies about hybrid forms of local governments that take elements of both council–manager andmayor–council forms. The cities that have modified their organizational structure from one of the pure forms have been called "adaptive" forms.[17]
Following the turmoil ofWorld War I (1914–1918), the1916 rising, theIrish War of Independence (1919–1921), and theIrish Civil War (1921–1923), the Irish government found it necessary to remove the members of several local authorities and replace them temporarily by paid commissioners.
Both Dublin and Cork city councils were so removed. In both cities, there was a body of opinion that the services provided by the councils were delivered more efficiently and fairly under the commissioners than under the previous system, where the executive function had been, in effect, vested in the councils and their committees.
In 1926, a committee of commercial and industrial interests in Cork came together to consider a scheme of city government. Having regard to the city's experience of commissioners and recent experience in the United States a council–manager plan of city government was proposed.
After discussion between the minister for local government and local representatives, the minister, Richard Mulcahy, introduced as a government measure, theCork City Management Bill 1929 and it became law despite opposition. The minister proposed and theOireachtas enacted similar provision for Dublin City in 1930. Similar laws were passed for Limerick in 1934 and Waterford in 1939 under theFianna Fáil government.
Under theCounty Management Act 1940, which was brought into operation in August 1942, acounty manager is the manager of everyborough ortown in that county, but since the 1990s, has the power to delegate these functions to any other officer of that borough or town council.
The system was modified also in subsequent legislation, particularly theCity and County Management (Amendment) Act 1955, which made some adjustments to give greater power to the council members, and theLocal Government Act 1985, which provided for the council–manager system inGalway City once detached for local government purposes fromCounty Galway.
The above acts have been replaced since that time, in substantially the same form, by theLocal Government Act 2001.
The council-manager form of local government was originally introduced into the West German states ofLower Saxony andNorth Rhine-Westphalia by post-WWII legislation. It was abolished in the mid-1990s when changes to local government law resulted in the adoption of the mayor-council system. The equivalent German term for the position of city manager wasOberstadtdirektor.
The council-manager form is the most popular structure of government in the United States among municipalities with populations of 2,500 or more.