City Manager position to improve operations

Former Mayor Svante Myrick formed a task force during his administration to address the challenges the City Mayor faces;they are expected to be both a political leader and city administrator on a part-time salary. Following in the footsteps of municipalities across the country, a proposal for a City Manager (CM) was formed.

Svante felt as though there are too many responsibilities for one person as Ithaca’s Mayor and that the position demands different kinds of talents to fill both the administrative and political leadership expectations. 

Currently, the Chief of Staff is hired by and reports to the Mayor and serves as the chief administrative office, but the authority that the Chief of Staff has is delegated by the Mayor. This can be confusing about who has authority to make important decisions and there are also potential inconsistencies in decision making.

By having an appointed CM, who is politically neutral, they can ensure that the policies created by Common Council and the Mayor are implemented without the confusing delegations that currently take place.   

According to Third Ward alderperson, Donna Fleming, other benefits of having a CM include:

• The city will be managed by someone with professional expertise in managing a large organization, administering a budget, overseeing staff, etc.  An elected Mayor usually doesn’t have that kind of experience,
• the person who manages the City is not a political figure and should not be influenced by his or her own political views while functioning in the role,
• freedom from political influence will lead to stability and consistency in City operations,
• the CM is accountable to the elected Common Council and their performance will be regularly evaluated.

“In the new system, the Mayor will be elected and will vote on the Common Council.  The Mayor will be the primary liaison between the Common Council and the City Manager and will preside over Common Council meetings, promote a vision for making Ithaca a better place, and serve as a ceremonial head at public events, ribbon cuttings, times of crisis, etc.,” Fleming said. “The City Manager will oversee department heads, develop a budget, attend to optimizing services, improving facilities, and managing operations but will not vote on Common Council or have a public political presence although we certainly hope that the CM would continue to vote quietly in local, state, and federal elections but that is not relevant to the job. The new system will be very close to the system of government under which Tompkins County operates; the key difference is that the City Mayor will be elected by the City’s voters while the Chair of the TC Legislature is chosen from and by the Legislature.”

In addition to the question of “What does this role look like,” another common question is “What will this cost the city’s tax-payers?” 

According to the City’s website, “with salary and benefits the Mayor, the Mayor’s executive assistant, and the Chief of Staff cost the City approximately $213,000. Under the new structure, the full-time City Manager will earn a bit more than the Chief of Staff and the incoming Mayor will earn slightly less than the current Mayor. With a full-time executive assistant to the City Manager the total cost would be approximately the same.  And because the City Manager is a professional manager, the City will become more efficient in its operations in the long run.”

It goes on to say that, for comparison, Tompkins County pays an Administrator, two deputy administrators, and an executive assistant $655,500 per year to oversee its budget of approximately $190M, and 750 employees in 31 departments serving 105,000 residents.

During the August 2 Common Council meeting, the proposed salary range for the CM was $160,000-$185,000 and was passed with a vote of 9-0.

During this same meeting, current Mayor Laura Lewis stated that the intended fulfillment and start of the position will take place January 1, 2024 so “it is important that the Common Council move expeditiously on this.” Fleming added that there is currently no set date for when the CM position will be posted or when applications to the position will be due. Those interested can view the full August Common Council meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMvbY5OPBYg.

Fleming said that in the meantime, there are certain points the City wants its residents to understand. 

“We want the public to understand that: City operations will be more efficient with a professional manager and staff will be more consistently supervised, though still subject to labor contracts and civil service law; the now-11 member Common Council headed by the Mayor elected at-large will still be responsible for determining the “vision” and strategic goals for the City and will still be responsible to the voters and that this is a big change, but many other municipalities function very well under this kind of system.  If we have a few little glitches in the transition we will handle them with grace and with the long-term good of the City in mind.”

More information on the CM will become available as the position’s details are solidified by the Mayor and Common Council. For general information about the position visit https://cityofithaca.org/faq.aspx?TID=52 and continue watching the Common Council agendas to learn when the CM will be discussed at meetings.