The municipal administrative officer movement in Southern California, 1945-1948

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THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER MOVEMENT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

I9li5-191|B

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Public Administration The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Public Administration

by Harry A. Marlow June 19^0

UMI Number: EP64486

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

Oissertelion PiMshlng

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9u. 'so M%v9 T h is thesis, w ritte n by

under the guidance of h la .... F a c u lty Co m m ittee, and a p p ro ved by a l l its members, has been presented to and accepted by the C o u n c il on G ra d u a te S tudy and Research in p a r t ia l f u l f i l l ­ ment of the requirements f o r the degree of

Master of Science in Public Administration

TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE

IN T R O D U C T I O N ...................•-.*............. The p r o b l e m ..........

1 3

Statement of the p r o b l e m ...............

3

Importance of the study

. . . . . . . . . .

l\.

*M e t h o d o l o g y ................... . ............

5

Bibliography ...........

. . . . . . . . . .

Interviews . ................... Questionnaire

. . . . . .

6

...

6

Correspondence ..............................

6

Definitions

.......................

5

........................ - ♦

City manager

. . . . . . . . .

7 7

Municipal administrative officer . .........

8

Instrument

8

.......................

Integration

8

Organization of the thesis

...............

9

Early growth and development of the munici­ pal administrative officer movement

...

9

Establishing the office of the administra­ tive officer

9

The municipal administrative officer in action . . . .

......... . . . . . . . . .

10

iii CHAPTER

PAGE The municipal administrative officer: concepts of office • • • • • • ...........

10

Summary and conclusion • • • • • • • « • • •

10

Development of the single responsible head in the administration of municipal affairs

II.

w

•

11

The town c o u n c i l ............................

11

The strong m a y o r ............................

12

The Staunton p l a n ..........................

13

The city manager . . .......................

1if

EARLY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OP THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER MOVEMENT

.............

Statutory organization of California cities Chartered cities . ............... General law cities .

l6 *

. . . . .

1? 18

.................

19

liie city manager in California * .............

21

By c h a r t e r ..................................

21

By ordinance

...........................

.

22

The emergence of the municipal administrative o f f i c e r ....................................

?j|

The councilman and administrative detail .

.

25

The city manager:

.

27

a problem in semantics

The municipal administrative officer, de f a c t o ................. .................

29

iv CHAPTER

PA(>E Contributing factors . . ..............

32

S u m m a r y ............... III.

33

ESTABLISHING- THE OFFICE OF THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER .......................

35

Statutory basis for appointing a municipal administrative officer .....................

35

The S t a t e .............................

35

The m u n i c i p a l i t y ...................

37

Creation by ordinance

.....................

37

Creation by r e s o l u t i o n ................... Creation by motion of c o u n c i l ...........

37 .

An evaluation of the methods . . . . . . . . Patterns for the office

39

...........

ip)

• • • • . • • . . . . .

Staffing the o f f i c e .......................... Recruitment

38

.................

The San Gabriel Plan The Montebello Plan

38

• • * • • . . . ..............

Ip. ipS p6

A p p o i n t m e n t ................... ..

if.7

T e n u r e .....................

Ip3

Salaries and benefits

I4.9

...................

E x p e r i e n c e ...................

50

Education

5l

. . . . .

.......................

Titles of the municipal administrative officer

52

S u m m a r y ......................................

53

V CHAPTER IV.

PASS

THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER IN ACTION . Ceneral administrative responsibilities

...

57 57

1316 position of the municipal administrative officer in municipal administration Administrative supervision .........

...

58

. . . .

59

Management f u n c t i o n s .......................... Personnel m a n a g e m e n t .......................

6l

Fiscal management

62

.....................

Responsibilities in line activities

Council relations

. . . .

.................

Official relationships

..........................

Relationships with department heads

61}. 66 67

. . . .

69

...

71

Relationship with the c i t i z e n s .............

73

Relations with commissions and boards

S u m m a r y ................................ V.

60

THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: OF OFFICE

...

.............

75

CONCEPTS

. . . . . . . .

77

The municipal administrative officer and democratic a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ............ The municipal administrative officer: authority

77

his

...............

80

Source of authority

.................

80

Extent of authority

. . . . . . . . . . . .

80

Hiring and firing

............

83

Vi CHAPTER

PAGE The municipal administrative officer: making . . . . ...........

VI.

policy

. . . . . . . . .

85

S u m m a r y ............ ..........................

89

SUMMARY AND C O N C L U S I O N S ........................ Underlying causes. . . . . .

..................

91 91

Outlook for the municipal administrative ...........................

96

C o n c l u s i o n ....................................

98

officer plan

B I B L I O G R A P H Y .............................................

102

APPENDIX.. A ....................................

108

APPENDIX.. B ........

109

APPENDIX

C .. ..

....................................

110

APPENDIX

D .. .

......................................

116

APPENDIX.. E ...........................................

119

APPENDIX

123

P ..........................................

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.

PAGE

Pattern of Cities Following "Montebello Plan" in Establishing the Office of the Municipal Administrative

2.

Officer

.................

1\Z

Municipal Administrative Officer Data as of March 15, 19^8

. . .

.......................

$$

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION The dynamic quality of municipal administration appar­ ent in many California communities has been summed up by Professors Crouch and McHenry in the statement 11Considered as a group, California cities have been noted for their willingness to experiment with forms and procedures that may produce good government and large numbers of services* This assertion is supported by experience since the passage of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883*

This Act estab­

lished a considerable degree of home rule and resulted in a Proliferation of such governmental forms as mayor-council, commission, council-commissioner and council-manager.2 The influence of the council-manager plan is particu­ larly evident in the fact that one fourth of all California cities, of which there are 30ij.,3 have some form of an inte­ grated, single-headed administration.

According to the

Municipal Year Book for 1914-9 there were fifty-nine approved

•** Winston W. Crouch and Dean E. McHenry, California Government: Politics and Administration (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 19^-5), p* 186* ^ Ibid»> p. 168. 3 Prank M. Jordon, compiler, California Official Roster (First I9I4.9 Revision; Sacramento: State Printing Office,

19^9), p. 113-185*

2 council-manager cities in California.4

In January, 1914-8,

the League of California Cities listed seventy-five cities as having either city managers or some other responsible administrative officer.5

It is around the central adminis­

trative office in the non-city manager cities that this study is composed. Colton Culver City El Monte Glendora Hawthorne

These fifteen cities are: Huntington Beach& Inglewood Montebello Monterey Park National City

Newport Beach Oceanside Hedlands San Gabriel Torrance

These administrative officers, or ‘’municipal adminis­ trative officers,” must be distinguished from the orthodox city manager. agent.

They are appointed by a city council as its

They are given many of the duties and responsibili­

ties of a city manager but have no real administrative authority in and of themselves.

There is a lack of delega­

ted authority particularly evident in the fact that the re­ sponsibility for the employment and discharge of subordinate officials and employees remains with the legislative body. Held by advocates of the council-manager plan to be one of

4 International City Managers’ Association, Municipal Year Book. 1949 (Chicago: International City Managers’ Asso­ ciation, 1949), pp. $lij.-l5 . 5 Howard Gardner, Assistant Director, League of Cali­ fornia Cities, Letter to writer, May 17, 194&* ° Huntington Beach had not yet adopted the plan when the League list was made.

~

3

the "musts*1 of a city manager, this area or administration remains the prerogative o f the city council in the city whose government is administered through the municipal administra­ tive officer*7 The following chapters will discuss: (1) the environ­ ment in which this form of municipal administration developed in Southern California, its growth,

(2) some of the forces which enhanced

(3) the features manifested during a three year

period following its recent conception, and (if) what might be expected of the form in the future* THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem*

The purpose of this study

is to investigate the nature of what has been termed the Municipal Administrative Officer Movement in Southern Cali fornia and to examine the office of the municipal adminis­ trative officer considering its development and relative

7 The International City Managers’ Association lists the following as duties and responsibilities of a city manager which are generally included in council-managers charters: the enforcement of all laws and ordinances; the control of appoint­ ing, supervising, and removing of department heads and: subor­ dinate employees, subject to civil service regulations; the mak­ ing of recommendations concerning city affairs to the council; keeping the council advised as to financial condition of the city; the preparation and submission of the annual budget; the preparation and submission of other reports as required; and keeping the public informed as to city activities* Internation­ al City Managers* Association, Recent Gounci1-Manager Develop­ ments and Director of Council-Manager Cities (Chicago: Inter­ national City Managers* Association, 19V?)V P* 3#

stability during a three year period, 19^5 to July, 19^8• Ike problem is not to weigh the merits of integrated admin­ istration, as such, but to explain a peculiar situation as it exists.

This paper is primarily a survey report of an

administrative office rather than a substantive report of conflicting concepts.

It is a study of the offices of fif­

teen administrative officers and the officers themselves. It is descriptive rather than analytical. Importance of the study.

As the utilization of new

administrative forms in California municipal government in­ creases there is need for clarification of an important development which many cities are today considering for adoption.

To the writer1s knowledge there has been no pre­

vious attempt to bring together the information presented herein.

What are the differences between the council-manager

plan* and the municipal administrative officer plan?

What

are the reasons for adopting this plan Instead of the ortho­ dox manager plan?

Is this movement setting a new pattern in

municipal administration or is it but an application of prin­ ciples tried before?

An effort has been made to compare the

activities of the municipal administrative officer in his ^administration of city affairs through a comparison of legis­ lative provisions.

To have made an exhaustive study of the

duties and responsibilities of the officer would have required

5 intensive field work and observation beyond tine limited time available to the writer. METHODOLOGY This study has been approached from the viewpoint of the administrators themselves and also from a compilation of relevant bibliographical data.

It has been supplemented

to a considerable extent by information from other sources: councilmen, newspapers, and private citizens with a pro­ fessional interest in the movement.

A survey of city manage­

ment literature indicates that little emphasis has been put upon professional municipal chief administrators other than the city manager.

The available bibliography Is sufficient,

however, to form a framework upon which a field survey con­ sisting of interviews and questionnaires could be fitted into this investigation of integrated administration. Bibliography.

Bibliographical sources included stand­

ard texts on municipal government and books dealing primarily with the city manager and the commission or council-manager form of government.

Periodicals included the American City.

Hational Municipal Review. Public Management, and others. University research reports, pamphlets of governmental and private research bureaus and typescripts of addresses by city officials provided much of the cementing elements of

6 the subject*

Sources immediate to the problem included

local newspapers and certain ordinances, resolutions and Gouncil minutes of the cities investigated* Interviews ♦

Formal interviews held with each munici­

pal administrative officer usrere supplemented by other oppor­ tunities to talk informally with them and other city offi­ cials.

At the interviews a schedule of questions regarding

the office was used to guide the discussion.

A copy of the

local legal authority for the office, usually an ordinance or a resolution, had been studied previous to the interview thus the writer had some knowledge of the officials position before talking with him. Questionnaire *

Many questions which the writer wished

to ask at interviews were of such a routine nature that to have attempted to get answers to them all would have left very little time for more significant material.

To remedy

this, following each interview, a short-answer questionnaire and a stamped self-addressed envelope were provided for the administrative officers to be filled out and returned at their convenience.

A copy of the interview schedule and the

questionnaire are appended to this paper. Correspondence *

Correspondence with the municipal ad­

ministrative officers was confined to requests for inter­

views and follow-up ,fthan]£ you11 letters*

City clerks, in a

number of instances, were asked to send copies of city or­ dinances and resolutions.

In addition to the above corres­

pondence, contacts were made with the International City Managers* Association, the national Municipal League, the League of California Cities, the Bureau of Governmental Re­ search, University of California at Los Angeles, Bureau of Public Administration, University of California at Berkeley, and the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Con­ gress* DEFINITIONS It is not intended that this paper be replete with technical terms and phrases*

However, it is believed that

clarification of a few references made herein will help the reader.

These terms which are used frequently are: city

manager, municipal administrative officer, instrument and integration.

Other words or phrases less frequently used,

which the writer believes should be defined, will be ex­ plained in the text* City manager *

The title ,fcity manager” or “manager”

refers to that municipal official to whom sole administra­ tive authority has been delegated either through a charter provision, a people’s ordinance or a council-ordinance.

8 Municipal administrative officer.

Officers other than

city managers appointed to coordinate municipal administra­ tive activities are referred to as municipal administrative officers, chief administrative officers or administrative officers. Instrument.

Offices of the municipal administrative

officers were created by ordinances, by resolutions, and some by an inclusion in the council minutes.

Reference to

these documents which have established such an office will be made by use of the term “instrument.11 Integration.

The process by which central direction

and control of scattered administrative activities Is achiev­ ed is called integration.

Used in its generally accepted

public administration sense— the concentration of authority in the hands of a single individual on a single level of government--integration is the raison

d* etre for the muni­

cipal administrative officer as well as for the city manager.®

® Leonard D. ll&iite, Introduction to the Study of Pub­ lic Administration (third edition; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1914.8 ), p. 35; John M. Pfiffner, Public Administra­ tion (revised edition; New York: The Ronald Press Company, I9W , pp. 130-31.

9 ORGANIZATION OP THE THESIS There are five major chapters in this thesis*

They

deal with the growth and development of the municipal admin­ istrative officer movement, the establishment of the office, activities of the officer and outgrowths of the plan.

A

brief historical survey of integrated municipal administra­ tion will be given In the introductory chapter and a summary of the movement and possible future implications will con­ clude the paper* Early growth and development of the Municipal Adminis­ trative Officer Movement*

While the local origins of the

Municipal Administrative Officer Movement will be dealt with particularly, they should not be thought of as apart from the general movement toward integrated municipal administra­ tion*

Reasons cited for this novel development are essen­

tially those which have been given for turning to the council-manager plan and for that reason these problems will not v

be dealt with to any great extent*

Legal aspects of local

California governmental structure will be included in this chapter*

Establishing the office of the municipal administra­ tive officer*

Some of the questions regarding the staffing

of the office in the local jurisdictions will be considered*

Recruitment, appointment, tenure, salaries, and the compara­ tive qualifications of experience and education are some of the personal aspects brought out in Chapter III# Ihe municipal administrative officer in action#

Com­

parative studies of the local legal instrument for the offi­ ces have indicated a similar pattern in the duties and re­ sponsibilities of the officers#

A review of general admin­

istrative duties and management functions, including the officer's role in personnel and fiscal matters, will be followed by a commentary on official relationships incumbent upon the municipal administrative officer.

Among these are

his relationships with the city council, commissions and boards, departmental officials and with the citizens# The municipal administrative officer: concepts of office#

A picture of the municipal administrative officer

cannot be complete without supplementing a description of his office, his duties and his responsibilities with a dis­ cussion of some of the more indeterminant areas surrounding the general concept of the plan.

Among these are the nature

of the officer's authority, his role in policy making and the place of the municipal administrative officer movement in democratic government. Summary and conclusion#

©le aim of the concluding

11 chapter is to bring together the reasons Tor the administra­ tive officer movement, to outline some of the distinguish­ ing characteristics of the development and to suggest what the future may hold as the plan progresses. DEVELOPMENT OP THE SINGLE RESPONSIBLE: HEAD IN THE ADMINISTRATION OP MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS The administration of public affairs and increased popular control of city government has been simplified by the elimination of the system of checks and balances and the substitution of an accountable and responsible integrated authority.9

While it has taken some three hundred years,

this development of a single responsible head in municipal administration is traceable -through city government in Amer­ ica from its very beginning. The town council.

The town council of colonial days

and the development of a municipal legislative organization not unlike that of the national government is well known. One writer has referred to the plan of bicameral councils, council committees and a weak executive as the keynote of municipal organization throughout the nineteenth century.-1*0

9 William P. Capes, The Modern City and Its Government (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1922), p . 180. ^ Herman Gerlach James, What Is The City Manager Plan (revised; Austin, Texas: University Press, 1917), pp. 9-10.

12 As the nineteenth century progressed, this plan was modified

as more authority was vested in the executive*

Among these

were the veto, appointing power, and other Hwhip powers,” as Hodges calls them.^1

By the end of the century the ”strong

mayor" was an established institution. The strong mayor.

Possibilities of public acceptance

of a form of government utilizing technically trained per­ sonnel to administer city affairs apart from politics fired the imagination of early leaders in municipal reform.

Mem­

bers of the National Municipal League and particularly Rich­ ard S* Childs, founder and secretary of the Short Ballot Or­ ganization, were among these.

The strong mayor plan received

active support from the League for a number of years because the structure of local government seemed to block adequate political and administrative reform.

It was believed that

the concentration of executive power in the mayor would alter this stalemate*

The first Model City Charter, drawn up and

approved by the League in 1898* proposed that the mayor exer­ cise authority which formerly had been dispersed among couneilmen, boards, commissions, and administrative officials. Also, principal subordinates were to be appointed by him with-

^

Henry G. Hodges, City Man ait (New York: P* S. Crofts and Company, 1939)* PP* 2ij.-2

13 out interference by the legislative body.*^ Another major development in bringing confidence in municipal administration was the development of citizen agencies to criticize and make recommendations concerning the administration of municipal affairs.

Leading these was the

New York Bureau of Municipal Research, founded in 1906.13 This move toward responsible administration was strengthened by the experiments with commission government in Galveston and Des Moines.

However the scattering of administrative

responsibilities among several elected officials, and essen­ tial element of the commission plan, was a fundamental weak­ ness yet to be overcome. The Staunton plan.

The next step forward in the ex­

perimentation with city administration was taken in the city of Staunton, Virginia.

There, out of a year and a half of

quarreling between the two municipal legislative chambers as to which would supervise city affairs, an office of manager” was established.

general

As an administrative officer, the

^ Harold A. Stone, Don K. Price, and Kathryn H. Stone, City Manager Government in the United States (Chicago: Public Administration Service, 19i|-0), pp. • 13 Austin P. MacDonald, American City Government and Administration (fourth edition; New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 19i}i>), pp. 315, 372. Perhaps the major contribution of this Bureau was the suggestion in regard to municipal budget­ ing by recommending a planned financial program to be made in advance of expenditure.

Xk general manager was to be under the immediate control of the council and directly responsible to it.

The Staunton plan

was approved and put into effect January 28, 1908.^%he city manager.

It was Hichard Childs1 concerted

effort in large part which brought about the city manager plan as it is known today.

Utilizing essential features of

both the commission plan and the Staunton plan, he worked out a theory of the delegation by the commission of its ad­ ministrative duties, responsibilities and authority to a single administrator.

Fundamental features of the commission

plan were still preserved.

Among these were: non-partisan

elections, election of counciImen or commissioners at large rather than by wards, and popularizing control through the mediums of the initiative, referendum and r e c a l l . ^

jn 1912,

Childs, upon hearing that Sumpter, South Carolina, had adopt­ ed the commission-manager plan, urged the town to advertise for a “city manager”, a title that he had given to this new administrative officer.

Following through with the idea,

Sumpter became the first real “city manager” city.

^ l£

Stone, Price and Stone, o£. cit., pp.

Ibid., p. 10. It has been maintained by some author­ ities that Childs1 program was not considered as much an in­ vention in government as It was a possible propaganda vehicle for the short ballot.

Childs felt that the Staunton plan with its “general manager’1 did not measure up to the standards of his theory because its governmental structure of two legislative bodies and a popularly elected mayor was unwieldy.

Also, the title

and powers given to the general manager were passed as an ordinance, rather than incorporated into a charter.

Accord­

ing to Childs, Staunton could never be a true council-manager city until his program and that of the National Munici­ pal League had been adopted. up his attitude:

The following statement sums

”We would have had to explain Staunton

for decades and the propaganda might have been split and confused.

So our tactics were never to mention Staunton,

never, until it switched to the true council-manager f o m . " ^ What constituted the “true” form included substantially those principles held today by the city managers.

One of

the most important of these principles is that the true in­ dependent administrator must control the appointment and re­ moval of all subordinates.

Over 803 cities and eleven

counties have complied with these standards established early in the profession and today are approved members of the International City Managers* Association, the profession­ al organization of the city m a n a g e r s . -**7 l8

Richard S. Childs, “Theories of Responsive Govern­ ment Prove Practical,11 Public Management. 2 9 2356, Dec., 19lf . -*-7 Municipal Year Book, 19^-9 9

CHAPTER I I

EARLY GROWTH AND DEYELOPMENT OP THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER MOVEMENT In California the development of integrated municipal administration followed closely upon the first city manager trials in Virginia* in

Glendale* which installed a city manager

is apparently the first California city to have

adopted the plan.

Bakersfield in 1915* and Alhambra and

San Jose in 1916 were the first of the freeholder charter cities to embrace the council-manager plan*-**

This early

entry into the growing list of council-manager cities may have been aided by at least two of the peculiarities in California local government*

One was non-partisan municipal

elections which virtually nullified party patronage and re­ sponsibility, and the other was a council-commission type of legislative body which did not allow the development of a single strong political personality who could commandeer the administration. However, to fully understand the development of inte­ grated administration in California it would be advantageous

1 Crouch and McHenry, o p . cit., p. 186. The City Man­ ager of San Jose is required to receive a vote of confidence by the people every two years, a practice unique among coun­ cil-manager cities*

17 to review briefly the statutory organization of California cities.

The variety of forms and governmental structure

have determined to a great extent the forces leading to in­ tegrated administrative control. The organization of the cities has allowed progressive changes to be made within municipal corporations.

Control

by the state legislature, while excessively strong during the formative years of the State, was modified in the 18?9 Constitution and further curtailed by the Municipal Corpora­ tions Act of 1883* The institution of the city manager through the coun­ cil-manager plan was largely dependent upon the extraordin­ ary scope of freedom given the cities in choosing their form of government.

A consideration of the manager plan, the

manner in which it can be and has been established, and a statement as to its extent, is basic to an tinderstand!ng of the problem*

The municipal administrative officer emerged

as a modification, a compromise of a citizenry seeking pro­ gressive administration yet hesitant to make a dramatic change in local administrative practices. STATUTORY ORGANIZATION OP CALIFORNIA CITIES California municipal corporations are either chartered under provisions of the State Constitution or incorporated

under the General Laws of the state* Chartered cities*

2

Cities which have attained a popula­

tion of more than 3,500 inhabitants based upon the last offi­ cial Federal census report are eligible to become charter eities*

A charter, prepared by either an elected Board of

Freeholders or the legislative body of the city, must be presented to the electorate at a special or general election. If a majority of the voters voting at that election favor the proposal it shall be considered ratified and submitted to the State Legislature for approval or rejection by a majority of each house.

When ratified by the legislature it

is the organic law of a city and all laws in conflict with it are invalid.3 *

Forms of city organization under California freeholder

charters vary greatly*

©iere is the independent mayor admin­

istering through commissions and boards of laymen as in the City of Los Angeles*

Xfoere is the mayor elected independent­

ly of the council but with no authority other than as a mem-

2 California Constitution (1879), Art. XX, Sec. 6 * 3 Ibid., Sec. 8 * No charter has failed to be ratified by the Legislature with the exception of one presented by the City of Fresno at which time the city petitioned that it not be ratified because of errors discovered in the document*

19 ber of the council, as in Inglewood.

Culver City has the

mayor -council form as it was originally established under the General Laws^* while the City of Fresno remains the last stronghold of the commission form.

In Pasadena only the

Board of Directors (city council) is elected while in Long Beach elected officials other than the couneilmen include the city clerk, city treasurer and the eity prosecutor. Couneilmen may be elected by districts as in Los Angeles, nominated by districts and elected by an at-large vote as in Long Beach or elected completely at large as in Santa Monica. The point is, there is no single organization set up for charter cities.

The situation is somewhat different in those

cities organized under the General Laws. General law cities.

Most of the cities in the state

are organized according to provisions of the General Laws of California through the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883.5 Originally setting up six classes through which municipali­ ties were expected to progress from the sixth to the first as they grew, most cities have preferred to remain in the sixth class.

Today that class is for all intents and pur-

^ Culver City based its entire charter upon the Gener­ al Laws governing cities of the sixth class. It Is for all intents and purposes a sixth class city, except that it has a charter. ^ California Constitution (1879) Art. XI, Sec.. 6 .

20 poses synonymous with ftGeneral Law Cities ,

Generally, the

Act provides that cities of the sixth class elect a city council, a city clerk and city treasurer.

Five Couneilmen

are elected at large to serve collectively as the legisla­ tive body; this body, the council, elects one of its members a mayor.

As presiding officer of the council the mayor

signs all legislative acts and serves as ceremonial head of the city.

He has no authority to act on his own.

Council-

men serve as chairmen of committes covering such city func­ tions as fire and police, public health and welfare, public works, recreation and parks, street maintenance, etc.

In­

dividually, the couneilmen have no administrative responsi­ bility for the conduct of municipal functions.

Legislative

and administrative authority abide in the council and the scope and limitations are so listed In the law.

Allowance

is made for the Clerk and Treasurer to be made appointive if a majority of the electorate so desires.

All appointing

power resides in the Council, When the legislation was originally passed it was ex­ pected that a community incorporating as a city of the sixth class would, as its population increased, vote to move into the next bracket and thus receive a slightly broader grant of l

There are two cities of the fifth class, Santa Ana and Woodland, Sections of the Act establishing First, Second Third and Fourth Class municipal corporations were repealed by the Statues of 19i|-7, Chapter 80I4., Par. 1, Deering*s Gen­ eral Laws of California, 19lp7 Supplement.

21 powers.

Actual practice proved, however, that instead of a

city changing its classification the law for sixth class cities~-under which the majority of California cities in­ corporated— has been broadened to fit the needs of the grow­ ing communities.7

Today there are among the more than 225

cities of the sixth class, some as large as Huntington Park with a population of more than 35,000 and others as small as Tehema with two hundred or Amador with 2)4.9 inhabitants. THE CITY MANAGER IN CALIFORNIA Two roads are open whereby a city manager can be appointed in California cities: one by charter provision and the other by ordinance. SSL charter.

Thirty-eight California cities have the

manager plan incorporated in their c h a r t e r s . ^

As such, the

office of the manager is a portion of the basic law of the municipality, a method which, as already indicated, is the most preferable according to the advocates of the orthodox council-manager plan.

This provision is one which adds

stability upon which temporary political upheavals would

7

California Constitution (l8?9) Art. XI, Sec. 6.

8 Municipal Year Book. 19^-9, PP« 5li|-, 5l5*

22 tend to have little By ordinance*

e f f e c t *9

Although the majority of California

cities are not chartered, the way is open under the General Laws for the establishment of the manager1s office#

The two

ways by which this can be accomplished is by a people*s or­ dinance, voted on by the electorate and an ordinance voted in by the city council*

The International City Managers*

Association recognized twenty-one managers in the 19^4-9 Year Book who were in office by virtue of an ordinance As in any law, ordinances can be repealed only in the manner in which they were adopted, thus it can readily be seen that a council ordinance is not the most stable plan* Yet several Southern California cities, including Ontario, Upland, Coronado, Fillmore and Lynwood have operated for years under such a provision*

First instituted as a means

of bringing integrated administration to a community not yet ready to adopt the eouneil-manager through popular vote, the action of the councils was, at the time, an extra-legal matter.

There was no provision for the action until the pro­

cedure was incorporated into the General Laws in I9I4J, there­

9 Reference is t6 the plan itself, not to any individ­ ual holding the office. Freedom of action in regard to the appointment and removal of the manager is basic to the coun­ cil-manager plan. ^

Idem*

23 by sanctioning the establishing of the offices by a council ordinance•H Over sixteen percent of California cities have adopted the* manager plan, an indication of the possibilities for growth where statutory freedom allows a considerable degree of home rule*

Yet, despite the publicity given the manager

plan over the past years and the success it has had in villages and cities alike, there are only slightly more than five percent of the total number of incorporated municipal­ ities in the United States that have accepted this form of local administration*12

•ph© expansion of the plan in Cali­

fornia is better understood in a comparison of the advance made during the past eight years.

By 19^J-i twenty-seven of

the approximately 300 cities in the State had adopted the plan and in 19^8 seventy-seven cities were listed by Bollens and McKinley as having a municipal administrator, either a

11

Deering* s General Laws of the State of California (Vol. II, San Francisco: Bancroft-Whitney Company, 19^14), Act 5233, Chap. 7, par. 852a as amended by Statutes 1947* Chap. oil}., par. 1* 11The statement: All ordinances hereto* fore enacted providing for the establishment of the city manager form of government are hereby confirmed, validated and declared legally valid.11

12

Municipal Year Book, 19k9» PP* 15, 5llj.. The Year Book lists 16,220 incorporated placed in a report of the U.S. Bureau of the Census and 877 cities with the manager plan.

*k city manager or chief administrative

officer.^

With the development of the past forty years toward integrating municipal administration through the medium of a manager it would seem that public opinion would favor the idea wherever it was advantageous to the city.

To the con­

trary, an increasing number of cities, beginning around the middle of 19^4-5?> started looking for some middle ground which would give many of the advantages of the manager plan but which would not “endanger11 the prerogatives of the local city council.

It is as a result of this that several Southern

California communities have established the office of “muni­ cipal administrative officer.” THE EMERGENCE OP THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER v.

The development of the municipal administrative offi­ cer movement paralleled that of the city manager plan to some extent.

The use in municipal administration of a pro­

fessional administrative officer with limited control is not a new idea.

Literature on American municipal government has

contained references to “near-manager” forms of administra­ tion and modified forms of manager government have been re-

3 John G. Bollens and John R. McKinley, California City Government (Berkeley, California: Bureau of Public Ad­ ministration, University of California, 19ij.8), p.

25 ported by cities in various s t a t e s . ^ Three major reasons seem to account for the trend to­ ward a modified city manager plan.

One is the reluctance

of city officials to tamper with the status quo regardless of the burden placed upon them by law and by their willing­ ness to accept administrative responsibility.

Another is

the1aversion shown by some public officials and citizens to the very name of "manager11 and finally, there is usually within a city an official upon whom the function of adminis­ trative coordination has come to rest,

pie first of these

reasons is not intended to be peculiar to the municipal ad­ ministrative officer movement at all, but it must be acknow­ ledged in the development of this office* The councilman and administrative detail.

In Califor>

nia, most of the legislative bodies in the smaller cities are composed of five couneilmen charged with both legisla­ tive and administrative duties.

The mayor is chosen from the

group by its members and although the official head of the city, he has no more authority than his colleagues in the

^ See Orerxn Chalmer Hormell, Maine Towns (Brunswick, Maine: Bowdoin College, 1932), pp. 16-25; Capes, o£. cit., account, of San Anselmo, Texas, and Willmette, Illinois, p.155 Sixth Yearbook of the City Managers* Association (Hew York: City Managers* Association* £92 0), pp. 52-53.

26 conduct of city affairs.

411 five, of the couneilmen are

chosen to serve on a part time basis, devoting a few hours a week or every two weeks to the council meeting.

They are

paid a salary quite insignifleant compared with the expenses involved.15 A councilman in the average smaller city is frequent­ ly a greatly harassed man.

On the one hand he has the task

of governing his city; and on the other, he must conduct his' own business.

With his colleagues, each in a similar

dilemma, he is expected to set the policy for his city, plan its'public works in detail, supervise its financial program, hire and fire its employees, and so on.

Couneilmen in many

cities have discovered that the task is virtually impossible without the aid of a technician skilled in administration. 4 person whose duty it is to co-ordinate actitivities would help the councilman in his difficult position and bridge the gap which frequently develops between the council and the , heads of the municipal departments. A number of cities in Southern California had already adopted the counci1-manager plan, but civic leaders in sever­ al cities did not want precisely that form of city adminis-

One councilman in a city of 16,000 population in-, dicated that the cost of his office for four years, including loss to his business because of lack of attention, was over $3>0 0 0 . Sis salary as a councilman is $300 a year.

27 tration.

They wanted an officer to insure the enforcement

of laws and ordinances; to exercise supervision over some or all of the various departments and to integrate their activ­ ities; to prepare and submit the budget to the council; to make recommendations regarding affairs of the city; and to keep the council informed as to the city’s financial condi­ tion.

They were not, however, enthusiastic about delegating

to anyone the authority to employ and discharge the depart­ ment heads and the subordinate officials and employees of the government.

In short, they wanted to keep the authority

for administering the city in the council and furthermore, they did not want a "manager."

Two alternatives, then, were

available to the cities who wished to achieve integrated administration.

One was to adopt the city manager plan, the

other was to establish some other officer to coordinate the municipal activities.

The reason some communities were not

favorable to the former might be better understood after a brief discussion of "what’s in a name?" The city manager; a problem in semantics. manager tends to be a dictator."

"The city

This statement was heard

in a number of city halls during the writer’s investigation. Hot only does the city manager tend to be a dictator, it was often added, but the very name of "manager" suggested dicta­ torship.

This conforms to the ideas of one writer who even

28 deplored the use of the ternr”manager plan” Instead of the "council-manager plan” because to him it obscured the fact that the plan is actually an approved form of democratic 18 control. To many local officials reference to a civic ad­ ministrative official as Mmanagerlf connoted a form of govern ment in which one man was given extreme power, relegating the council to an advisory position.

The whole aspect of

terminology in this respect has been well reported by Pro­ fessor Hormell in his study of Maine towns. Several Massachusetts towns haVe made administra­ tive reforms approximating the town manager plan, without adopting it in full or using the title of manager. In fact the title of manager has been u n ­ fortunate. He might be called engineer, superin­ tendent, or even supervisor, with impunity, but manager seems to shock the political ethics of the Hew Englander.17 x Hot all of the municipal administrative officers whom the writer interviewed agreed, however, with this strict interpretation of the term.

Some of them were looking for­

ward to the time when their cities would eventually accept the full council-manager plan.

A situation in which a d i c ­

tatorship11 by a city manager might arise could be prevented. If its role in representative democratic government is mini­

^ Editorial, "Management vs. Dictatorship, ” national Municipal Review. 31:14,75, October, 1932. 17 ' Hormell, o£. cit., p. 22.

29 mized, it is a councilfs own fault, this group thought.

It

was said that while it is the council’s duty to enact the laws and establish the policies, it should not let the ad­ ministrative officer forget that his job is administrative only.

Among an alert group of citizens there can still be

an efficient single administrator, but he can exist only as an agent of the popular will through their elected represen­ tatives. 18

The fact remains that in order to counter-act

the objection to a city manager, it was thought that the ' creation of an office in which the administrator would act only as an agent for the council, having no real delegated authority, would diminish the tendencies toward dictatorial control.

The problem was somewhat alleviated by an already

existing phenomenon apparent in the municipalities: the development of the administrative officer de facto, a move which perhaps more than any other augmented the trend toward recognized municipal administrative integration. The municipal administrative officer, de facto.

Tra­

ditionally there have been those in city government toward whom administrative functions gravitate.

18

In some cases the

Bernard Hyink, Councilman, Redlands. February l£, I9I4-8 *

Interview,

30 city engineer,3-9 or some other appointive official occupies this position*

The chief of police in one city became the

administrative coordinator;20 city couneilmen who can spare the time may assume administrative obligations and quite often the mayor in some cities devotes his time to adminis­ trative activities*

One city official, has maintained that

the use of such an agent is so common that in every Cali­ fornia sixth class city the general administration has fallen to one or another of its officers.?^-

A case at point is

the city of San Gabriel. Because of the growth of this community and its nec­ essary increase in public services, the city clerk necessar­ ily assumed certain administrative responsibilities and, having served as a councilman for several years, was acquain­ ted with what could be done and what should not be done with­ out council approval.

This arrangement was unsatisfactory,

however, for the clerk had no real coordinating authority. It was only after a ruling from the city attorney stating

.^*9 Hotiee in the list of city officials in the Cali­ fornia Official Roster the number of cities in which this officer holds multiple offices. 20 H* C. Peiffer, March 26,. 19^8•

City Clerk, South Gate.

Interview,

^ Michael Tellefson, Chief Administrative Officer, Culver City. Interview, February 11, I9I4.8 . See John M. Pfiffner, The City Manager Plan in Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1929), pp. 2-3; Hormell, o p . cit., p. 23; Capes, o£. cit., p. 153*

31 that a municipal officer holding one office was not prohi­ bited from holding a second, that a resolution creating the office of an administrative officer was adopted,

The City

Clerk of San Gabriel was speaking from experience when he said, In my opinion any City Clerk who has served his city for any length of time has naturally absorbed considerable knowledge of how his city should be run. He is more familiar with the financial strength or weakness that fsicl any other officer, He is more familiar with ordinances, and their regulations. He is better acquainted with the personnel, he is the liaison officer between the public and the legisla­ tive body. In short he has his finger on the pulse of the city at.all times, and can, if given the authority, be of immeasurable help to the City Council, In screening out a multitude of inconsequential matters, and at the same time stream-lining the work of all depart­ ments, with the result the public, the City Council and the employees are all going to benefit,22 In writing of a similar condition among county clerks, one person put it that the development of general managerial re­ sponsibility thrust upon clerks has resulted in the E x p l o i ­ tation of his financial and secretarial d u t i e s ,!,23

22

Carl E. Gruendler, "Assumption of Administrative Responsibility by City Clerks,11 (hectograph copy). An ex­ tension or remarks made before the Finance Officers Depart­ ment Session of the League of California Cities Annual Con­ ference, San Francisco, September, 19i|-7. 2\ J L. H. Adolphs on, u^he County Clerk as Manager," National Ifctnicipal Review, 3I4.525, March, I9I4.5 *

32 These relationships of the administrative officer de facto.* are usually informal and the performance standard of the extra legal duties depends upon the personal relation­ ships of the couneilmen and the coordinating official*

If

nothing else, an advantage a duly authorized person has over the unauthorized administrator is that the former can inves­ tigate activities of the several departments with full back­ ing from the council*

Legalization of this de facto admin­

istrator was one answer to the problem facing the legisla­ tive bodies* Gontributing factors*

There were other factors which

contributed to the trend toward choosing a municipal admin­ istrative officer.

The position of the Chief Administrative

Officer in the City and County of San Francisco^* and the establishment of a similar officer in Los Angeles County,^5 was quite influential upon those planning a type of function aL administration for smaller cities.

One of the officials

responsible for the rapid development of the municipal ad­ ministrative officer worked on a civic committee which was

^ Bert W. Levit, **San Francisco’s Unique Charter,*1 National Municipal Review* 34:273-77» June, 1945* 25

John McDiarmid, Streamlined County Government Los Angeles Style, (Reprinted from National Municipal Review* November, 1939), 7 PP*

33 attempting to frame a charter provision incorporating the County Chief Administrative Officer into the Los Angeles County Charter.

He has indicated that this contact provided

a basis for a local plan ultimately established in the city of Montebello.?^ Exposure of many officials and citizens to the admin­ istration of the armed services during World War II un­ doubtedly influenced the receptiveness of the idea of inte­ grated administration by the officials and the populace* Consolidation of the school districts of one city brought the position of the Superintendent of Schools to the fore­ front.

lfWhy,t! it was asked, 11if school districts operated

successfully under an administrator responsible to the Board of Education,

tionship to the brevity of the various instruments and the interpretation placed upon them by the operating officers. STAFFING THE OFFICE Once the position was created, the office of a munici­ pal administrative officer needed to be staffed*

A survey

of the staffing methods exercised in the cities and a con­ sideration of the comparative basic qualifications of the officers so chosen, will follow.

A diversity in procedure

is shown in a comparison of recruitment and appointment methods and a variety in background is shown in an appraisal of individual experience and education. Recruitment*

Municipal administrative officers were

recruited from within the city whose office was to be staffed as well as from outside the city*s jurisdiction.

The person

chosen for the position may or may not have been a public official at the time of his appointment.

Of officers hold­

ing elective positions within the city appointing them, one councilman resigned to accept the position while a city clerk had the office added to his present position.

Another

officer was given the office in addition to his service as city attorney and the administrative officer serving before him had been appointed to that office in addition to his duty as city engineer.

Another was appointed from the superin­

tendency of the water department.

In one city the duties of

Kl

the office were fulfilled by a man retaining his position as an employee of the State.

In still another instance, an

officer was appointed from a position with the local cham­ ber of commerce* Ohe new offices were publicized in several ways depen­ ding upon the area from which the candidates were to be drawn*

Where the new officer was chosen from eity personnel

or from the immediate community, there was little need for outside recruitment.

Seven cities did not advertise but

those which did utilized newspapers, Western City, Management. applicants.

Public

Some sent personal letters to prospective Inglewood was the only city, so far as is known,

which used a printed announcement.

Advertisements in both

Western City and the newspapers were effective in a few in­ stances but correspondence or telephone calls from officials or citizen friends accounted for the majority of the posi­ tions filled from outside the cities*17 Appointment.

All but three of the officers were sub-*

jected to an oral interview of one kind or another.

Boards

^ Official publication of the League of California Cities and Municipal Leagues of o t h e r .Western States. l6

Official publication of International City Manager’s Association.

^ Information in this and subsequent paragraphs not specifically credited was obtained through questionnaires.

examining the applicants were composed Tor the most part of councilman, although a personnel board interviewed one appli­ cant; however, its recommendation was reviewed by the coun­ cil*

The president of the local chamber of commerce sat

with one examining group and a few city councils supplement­ ed their judgments with those of private citizens and'pro­ fessional administrators*

Men were invited in from outside

the city to interview the applicants in two cases.

Council

vote for the appointment of the officer was unanimous in every case but one.

With the exception of Inglewood, all ■I Q

appointments were outside the merit system. The appointment of a particular individual was usually not included In the creating instrument and in none of the ordinances does a name appear.

In the resolutions of Monte­

bello, National City, and San Gabriel the person appointed was named.

The general procedure was to appoint the specific

municipal administrative officer in a separate resolution. Tenure.

In all offices tenure was dependent wholly

upon the will of the council, except in Inglewood where the administrative officer was under civil service regulations. San Gabriel's resolution is the only instrument to contain the phrase "shall hold office at its

(the council'sj pleas-

Montebello's Co-ordinator was voted in 3 to 1.

1+9 ure.tf

Because of the newness of the municipal administra­

tive officer movement, a consideration of the relative leng­ ths of service of the officers would be inconsequential* Salaries and benefits*

Salaries of the municipal ad­

ministrative officers ranged from one dollar a year in Monte­ bello to nine thousand dollars a year in Torrance*

The

Montebello position was honorary in that the officer serving had a full-time position with the State of California*

Glen­

dora had a low rate of $150 a month because its officer served on a half-time basis.

Hawthorne was the only city

which included the salary provision in the creating ordin­ ance.

San Gabrielfs resolution provided for a salary but

left the amount undesignated while Glendora’s read ,fas es­ tablished* n 3-9

2he administrative officer of National City

had his salary set at $350 per month and $25 for automobile expenses* All of the officers received some remuneration for legitimate expenses.

Two-thirds of the men could charge

their memberships in professional organizations to their re­ spective cities*

Almost all could entertain official visitors

and six had the use of a city automobile for official busi­ ness*

The same number received mileage when their personal

car was used for city affairs.

19. see. III.

Vacation period allowed was generally two weeks, al­ though one officer received three*

This officer also re­

ceived twelve days accumulated sick leave per year while others received a varying number of days, some accumulative and others not.

One officer received one day per month of

service sick leave accumulative up to thirty days* Experience*

A majority of officers showed evidence of

considerable experience in municipal service prior to their appointment as municipal administrative officers. cers began their service twenty-four years ago.

Two offi­ One had his

first governmental position in 1915 although his city work did not begin until 1930*

In San Gabriel, the administra­

tive officer entered the City Clerk’s office after serving several years as a councilman*

Two officers who listed

their present position as the first in municipal service were those of National City and of Redlands.

Both of these

men and at least three others were in the armed services during World War II.

About half of the municipal administra­

tive officers indicated engineering training, some with pri­ vate companies, most of them in a governmental agency.

Pub­

lic works management, planning engineering design and con­ struction, gravity engineering and electrical engineering were some of the engineering fields listed. Although the present administrative officer movement is

of recent origin, two officers had moved from their initial administrative officer assignments to others.

'The adminis­

trative officer of Torrance was formerly in Culver City and the first administrative officer of Montebello became the first administrative officer of Inglewood.

Oceanside’s

administrative officer left a city managership in a Northern California city to go south.

Prior to that, he was the

assistant city manager of another California city and as a student he interned as an assistant to the Gity Manager of Berkeley.

Additional experience as councilmen was afforded

the administrative officers of Glendora, San G a b r i e l C u l v e r City and Inglewood.

It was quite evident that the whole

group of officers was career minded. Education.

Of those #10 indicated their schooling,

five administrative officers were college graduates and two reported at least two years of college work.

Only one offi­

cer said that he had not completed high school and two in­ dicated no further schooling after graduation from high school.

Questioned as to major subjects in undergraduate

study, the fields of journalism, economics, pre-law, general engineering, civil and electrical engineering were mentioned. Business administration and law were indicated as special studies, one officer having become a member of the California State Bar as a result of self instruction.

Public adminis­

52

tration was the graduate field of study for one administra­ tive officer.

Academic degrees granted to the members of

this group included a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science and two engineering degrees in civil and in electrical engin­ eering.

There were no graduate degrees indicated.

TITLES OP THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER One cannot but be impressed with the variety of titles which have been conferred upon the municipal administrative officers.

Seven different names were given to them, nine

of whom were entitled 11administrative officer .11 All of the Montebello Plan cities adhered to this title.

The original

Montebello ordinance almost had 11Chief Administrative Offi­ cer 11 incorporated into it but some of the city officials believed the word 11chief 11 to held a connotation which did not fit their concept of the off ice.20 bello called Its officer a

©i© city of Monte­

coordinator while Culver City

had a Chief Administrative officer.

San Gabriel1s city

clerk has been its Administrative Officer since the incep­ tion of the plan and the Administrative Officer of Torrance was the first Chief Administrative Officer of Culver City. Four of the titles were dominated by the word 11City11.

New­

port Beach had a City Administrative Officer, Glendora, a

20

/ Tellefson. Supra, p. 16 f.

„

53 City Administrator and Redlands, a City Service Manager. Hawthorne had the only municipal administrative officer with the title of 11City Manager”♦

In some cities the officer,

although legally entitled the "Administrative Officer”, was often referred to as the 11City Administrator” .

Ihere is

nothing unique, as such, in giving these various titles to the respective administrators, and, it will be remembered, the Staunton Plan in 1908 established the office of "General Manager” .

The original Staunton plan, however,

the establishment of a "Municipal Director11.

called for

IThus, it was

not an uncommon occurence for the municipal administrative officers to bear titles descriptive of their position.

In

fact, the practice seems to have been encouraged by those public officials who associate concepts of political philos­ ophy with a title.

5

SUMMARY ;

Cities adopting a form of an administrative officer type of government have, on the whole, followed established patterns.

For some, a brief outline of the official's duties

was sufficient but the majority of cities favored a more specific document setting forth in either resolution or or­ dinance the standards by which their administrators were to be guided.

Generally speaking, the men who filled the posi­

tions described in the study came into the office immediately

5k after it was established, but at least one was fulfilling the obligations of the office even before it was established. Relative pre-requisites of the offices cannot be satisfac­ torily compared except to say that the holder had all the rights and privileges of other city officials in regard to vacation, leave, etc., although his salary is with one or two exceptions the highest paid in the city. cer was under a civil service merit system.

Only one offi­ Experience and

scholastic background of the men were as varied as the titles they possessed but most of them were certain in their in­ tention to continue to find their career in municipal admin­ istration.

55 Figure 2 M0NICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER DATA as of March 15* 194-8 City Title

Ins trument Date

Incumbent, Date Appointed

Salary

Colton Administrative Officer

Ordinance Oct. 194-8

A. L. Study Nov., 194-6

#6,000

Culver City C.A.O. & City Attorney

Resolution Jan* II4., 194-6

M. Tellefson Jan. 2, _194-8

#8,4-00*

El Monte Administrative Officer

Ordinance April 21, 194-7

E. H. Riggs May 1, 194-7

#6,000

Glendora City Administrator

Resolution Jan. 27, 194-8

Emerson L. Duff Feb. 1, 194.8

Hawthorne City Manager

Ordinance Nov. 25, 194.7

Frank E. Wilson Jan. 15, 194.8

Huntington Beach Administrative Officer and City Clerk

Ordinance Jan* 26, 194.8

John L. Henri ck soil March 9* 194-8

Inglewood Administrative Officer

Ordinance Oct. 1, 194-6

Chet Shelley Dec. 1, 194-0

Montebello Co-ordinator

Resolution Oct. 6 , 194.7

Lloyd Kemp Oct. 6 , 194.7

Monterey Park Administrative Officer and City Engineer

Resolution March 11, 194*6

Don C. Davis Sept. 15, 194-7

#7 ,200*

National City Administrative Officer

Resolution Sept, 1, 194-6

Delavan J. Dickson Sept. 1, 194-6

#4-,5oo

Newport Beach City Admin* Officer

Resolution Aug. X, 194.6

John J. Sailors Aug. 1, 194.6

#4-,5oo

Oceanside Administrative Officer

Ordinance James March 14-, 194-7 July,

Redlands City Services Manager

Motion of Council George W. Coffey Aug., 194i> Sept. 1, 194.6

* Combined salaries of both offices

E. Neal 194-7

#1,800 (4 time) #6,500 #5,500*

#7,200

#1.00 (Honorary)

#6,000 #6,000

56 Figure 2 (cont*) MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER DATA as of March lf>, 194-8 City Title

Instrument ____________ Date

San Gabriel Resolution Administrative Officer May II, 194-3 and City Clerk

Incumbent, Date Appointed C, E. Gruendler May 17, 194-3

Torrance Motion of Council George W. Stevens Administrative Officer Nov* 25, 194-7 Jaxi. 1 , 194-8 and City Engineer

* Combined salaries of both offices

Salary

.#3, 600#

#9 ,000#

CHAPTER I V

THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER IN ACTION Municipal administrative officers are charged, as a rule, with the responsibility for carrying out the policies, regulations, contracts and ordinances promulgated by their respective city councils, and

■

. . . to attend to such administrative affairs be­ tween meetings of the City Council, correlate and coordinate various municipal activities, compile data, prepare reports relating to the affairs of the City Government for the information and guidance of the City Council, and generally to act as agent for the City Council, in the discharge of administrative duties; . . .1 This chapter will survey the general administrative respon­ sibilities of the officer, his management functions, and his administrative relationship with the city council, commissions and boards, department heads, and citizens* GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES The municipal administrative officer is the liaison between the city council and the subordinate officers and employees of the city*

His responsibility Is that of co­

ordinating the personnel and the work of the city to achieve

1

Inglewood, Ordxnance No. 912, preamble.

58 greater service and efficiency in the government.

Of all

the problems found in the unintegrated administration, lack of this function of coordination is most likely to result in waste of manpower, materiel and service.

Hie interdependence

of all municipal activities, especially in a rapidly expand­ ing community, has increased its importance.

Before mention­

ing some of the specific activities in which the municipal administrative officer participates, some aspects of his role in general administrative supervision and control should be discussed. Hie position of the municipal administrative officer in municipal organization.

Two concepts of the supervisor­

ial position of the municipal administrative officer have become apparent from this study.

One is that in the hier­

archy of municipal officials the administrative officer is at the apex of the administrative pyramid.

The other is

that the municipal administrative officer is in a position of staff relationship to city department heads whose lines of authority converge toward the city council, with no in\ tervening position. Most of the officers interviewed felt that they were on top of a direct chain of command--without the actual command authority--placed between the administra­ tive departments and the city council as ecutors of the council’s wishes.

coordinators, ex-

59 W here the administrative officer serves as an admin­

istrative assistant liis organizational position is different. One' cannot tell from superficial observation the situation in any given city so far as this relationship is concerned, but indications are that the officer’s position is rather flexi­ ble i

Ih© true position is usually somewhere between the two

ideas and it is from this position, whatever its place in the municipal hierarchy, that the officer performs his pri­ mary function, that of co-ordination and control. Adminis trative supervision.

In almost all of the fif­

teen cities the municipal administrative officer was required to maintain administrative control through some form of a continuous analysis of municipal functions.

Each officer

operating under the Montebello plan was authorized to analyze the functions, duties and activities of the various departments, divisions and services of the city government and of all employees thereof and make recommendations to the City Council with reference thereto as in his judgment will result in the highest degree of efficiency in the over-all operation of the city government .2 In Glendora the city administrator was charged with coordin­ ating the personnel and the work of the city to achieve greater service and efficiency in the government.3

^ Inglewood ordinance, Sec. 1, d. Ordinance, Sec. II, a.

'The Co-

ordinator in Montebello was required to make investigations and reports as to the affairs of that city.

He was specif­

ically authorized free and uninterrupted access to all files, records, papers and books and he could copy therefrom any and all data he might desire.!*-

The making of recommenda­

tions as to improvements of Gity offices and properties was a general practice in most of the cities.

It is through the

functioning of management control, particularly in personnel and fiscal matters, that the municipal administrative offi­ cer keeps his fingers on the pulse of city management. MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS Although the management functions of the administra­ tive officer embrace both staff and line activities, for purposes of this study they have not been separated or dealt with as such.

This section will deal with personnel and fis­

cal management aspects of the administrator1^

job as they

are related to control and with the line services as they fit into the pattern of municipal co-ordination.

As the nominal

head of most city departments, the function of the municipal administrative officer is, in these matters, similar to that of a city manager.5

^ Resolution, Sec. 2 (d). £ ^ The offiees of city clerk, city treasurer, city attor ney and city judge are not under the municipal administrator 1 control, except where the administrator may hold one of the offices himself.

6l Personnel management.

While the municipal adminis­

trative officer is not charged with the employment and re­ lease of personnel, he was given the task of controlling their activities and, in some cases, of making recommenda­ tions to the council regarding individual efficiency.

Ihe

directive to the Montebello Plan officers reads: In the discharge of his duties as Administrative Officer the person holding such position shall en­ deavor at all times to exercise the highest degree of tact, patience of courtesy in his contacts with the public and with all City commissions, boards, departments, officers and employees and shall use his best efforts to establish and maintain a har­ monious relationship between all personnel employed in the government of the City of Inglewood to the end that highest possible standards of public ser­ vice be continuously fsicl. In addition to this, the officers of Newport Beach and Mon­ terey Park were authorized, to make studies and surveys of the duties, respon­ sibilities and work of the personnel in the various departments, divisions and services of the city government and to recommend to the City Council abol­ ition whenever in his judgment such action would in­ crease efficiency in the administration of the city government.? The Glendora resolution was the only instrument specifically stating that the administrative officer shall not have any authority to employ or discharge any of the city personnel although he was to supervise and direct the work of all em-

Inglewood Ordinance, Sec. 3

7

Sets.

X, (1).

62 ployees,^

In Redlands, the City Services Manager was

authorized to procure qualified personnel for certain assign­ ments, to judge adaptability to work, and to release from employment such personnel failing to prove their ability to fulfill the obligations of the positions.9

But even this

authority was to be applied only to the lower levels of em­ ployment and to those intermittently employed.

Several of

the cities allowed this practice in respect to minor employ­ ees, some allowing the department head, himself, discretion to act in certain cases.

Regular employees and key offi­

cials in none of the cities were subject to the sole hiring and firing authority of the administrative officer for, as /

it has been indicated, he would then cease to be “a munici­ pal administrative officer 11 and would become a “city manager 11• Fiscal management.

In general, the job of the admin­

istrator in finance was concerned with budget preparation, budget administration, and expenditure control.

Departments

submit itemized annual estimates of expenditures to the ad­ ministrative officer including such items as capital outlay,

8 Sec. XI, F. 9 Harry R. Whaley, City Clerk, City of Redlands, to writer, e* October, 19lj-7.

Letter

63 salaries and wages and miscellaneous costs.

The officer

then makes up a consolidated budget which is presented with his recommendation to the city council at a specified time each year.

Several cities never had a budget before the

first one which was prepared and submitted by their adminis­ trative officer.

In a few places the city clerk had per­

formed that duty to the extent of approximating general de­ partmental expenditures.

There was no reference to the

budget in the short resolutions of Glendora, Montebello and San Gabriel; however, the administrators of these three cities did, in fact, concern themselves with budgetary problems. Allied to the program of budget preparation is that of administering it.

Specific authority was stipulated in

most cities by the statement: ”to be responsible for the ad­ ministration of the budget after its final adoption and to keep the City Council informed with respect thereto11. ^

The

City Services Manager of Badlands was to administer specifi­ cally in budgeting and accounting and in the securing of data necessary in the preparation of cost analysis, esti­ mates of new construction, rate study and the expenditure of all funds

^Inglewood,

(f).

11 Whaley. Interview.

61* .

Ten of th© municipal administrative officers were purchasing agents for their respective cities.

With buying

centralized, quantity and quality control of supplies, equip­ ment and materiel are enhanced.

To aid in this control,

officers under the Montebello Plan were charged in their or­ dinances and resolutions with the maintenance of inventory records.

in

the original Montebello resolution, and in

the resolutions of Monterey Park and Newport Beach, another duty of the administrative officer was that of controlling th© transfer of equipment between departments and disposing of equipment and materiel when advantageous to the cities.13 I n practice, the administrative officers of the other cities

carried on the same function.

Integrating this area of city

administration under the administrative officer has materi­ ally increased the efficient operation of municipal corpora­ tions and has helped to raise the standards for other de­ partments in the government. Responsibi 1 ities in line activities.

Management of

the line activities by the municipal administrative officer revolved around two functions: (1 ) the establishment of new projects and (2 ) the improvement and maintenance of existing

^ 13

Sec. L, k. Sec. I (k), both resolutions*

65 services.

Specific authority for the participation of the

administrative officer in public works programs in most of the cities is found in this statement: To develop and organize necessary public improve­ ment projects and programs and to aid and assist the City Council and the various departments in . carrying the same through to successful conclusion.***h * The three resolutions of Glendora, Montebello and San Gab­ riel contained no specific statement regarding public works. Redlands., on the other hand, gave its administrative offi­ cer the general supervision of the water, street, park, building, engineering recreations, cemetery and disposal departments.^

In Newport Beach the City Administrative

Officer was directly responsible for only the municipal trailer park and the municipal parking lots .*^6

s i x munici­

pal administrative officers were responsible for the opera­ tion of municipal water works and one, in Colton, had the municipal electric power plant under his supervision . ^

In­

herent in co-ordinating and controlling these functions is

^

Colton Ordinance No. 698, Sec. 1 (h).

1^ ^ Letter, o p . cit. 1&

John J. Sailors, City Administrative Officer, New­ port Beach. Interview, March 19, 19^8. 17

The other five cities are El Monte, Inglewood, Mon** terey Park, Oceanside, and Redlands.

66 th© necessity Tor keeping well informed as to the accessi­ bility of federal and state aid for public works* The administrative officer sometimes has a dual role to play inasmuch as he may be the head of an operating de­ partment as well as being the coordinating agent*

It has

been indicated that generally, the officer was the city pur­ chasing agent; in two instances, one was the city clerk, an­ other the city attorney.

In Monterey Park and Torrance the

officer was also the city engineer.

The City Services Man­

ager of Redlands was connected with the engineering office of that city before being appointed to his position; in New­ port Beach the Administrative Officer entered city employ­ ment as the Superintendent of the Water Department.-^ OFFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS There are four areas of official relationships in which the municipal administrative officer is engaged.

He

is an agent appointed by the city council; he is a coordina­ tor in the maelstrbln of activities under the direction of department heads; he must cooperate with the members of the various commissions and boards; and above all, he must be available to the citizen.

Much of the material presented

herein is of such a nature that most of the officials supply-

Interviews and questionnaires#

ing information preferred to remain anonymous*

Therefore,

the footnotes have been used in this section only when refer­ ence is made to a particular document and to certain speci­ fic oral citations of general interest*

References in the

text to certain cities will identify other items* Gouncil relations*

All of the municipal administra­

tive officers were required to report and make recommenda­ tions to the council on matters pertaining to departments and various services*

Pew formal written reports were re­

quired other than the budget which was presented each year* San Gabriel required each department head to submit a month­ ly report which was presented to the council through the administrative officer and in Oceanside a three month finan­ cial report was required by ordinance*

A periodical budget

control report was made by the Administrative Officer in National City*

Generally speaking, accounting to the city

councils consisted of a continuous report of city affairs. Most of the reporting was presented in the agenda of council business usually prepared by the administrative officer. Almost all departmental information was channeled through the municipal administrative officer.

Department

heads seldom reported directly to the council unless the matter under consideration was of a nature requiring techni­ cal or other specialized information*

It was indicated by

68

one officer that all pertinent information went to the council through him; if more information was desired a de­ tailed report was prepared by the department concerned and presented by him at a later date*

Some reporting outside of

the scheduled council meetings was indicated and several of the cities had "executive sessions" before council meetings to consider the agenda.

Such extra sessions between the ad­

ministrative officer and the councilman were considered out of order in other cities.

It was felt that there should be

no semblance of collusion between the officials. A majority of the municipal administrative officers felt that the cooperation of councilmen in issuing instruc­ tions to department heads and other city en^loyees only through their respective administrative officer was indis­ pensable.

Where the relationship between the council and

its agent was not as clearly defined as In a council-manager form of government, such cooperation was not only desirable but necessary.

Ifoere were situations where councilmen. per­

sistently held to their legal prerogative of dealing Individ­ ually with department chiefs.

On the other hand, there were

those who went out of their way to maintain a clear-cut dis­ tinction between their legislative function and that which they believed belonged to their chosen administrative agent. It was the opinion of several officials, both councilmen and administrative officers, that time and intelligent considers-

69

tion by both, parties would help overcome most of these difficulties#

Most of the specific problems arising between

the municipal administrative officer and his council are common in city management#

Some of these are the mainten­

ance of clear channels of communication between the council and operating departments, and vice versa; another, when the personal interests of an official exceeds his public in­ terest. Relationships with department heads# ship of the municipal

administrative officer

Ihe relation­ to the depart­

ment head was thought by several officers to be more impor­ tant than that of the administrative officer

to the council*

It was the department head with whom he was more closely associated and the effectiveness of this association influ­ enced to a great degree the position of the municipal admin­ istrative officer*

In a city operating under the municipal

administrative officer plan, the department head is not the agent of the administrative officer to the extent that he is employed or discharged by him*

In all. fifteen cities just

as the administrative officer was appointed by the city council so was the department head.

An exception was that

where there was a merit system the department head was usu­ ally appointed in the classified service while the adminis­ trative officer, in every instance but one (Inglewood), was

70 appointed In the unclassified service*

However, it was

generally the practice of city councils to consult with, the administrative officer concerning any changes which were to be made*

Too, the officer was often charged with recommend­

ing changes in personnel when he deemed it advisable*

It

can hardly be said that the administrative officer has no vote in determining who his lieutenants shall be* Administrative officer-department head contacts were both formal and informal.

Several officers indicated that

meetings with department heads were held periodically; usually weekly*

Others believed that formal scheduling was

not advantageous to the administrative program.

One officer

indicated that it was his rule to have at least one session a day with his chiefs, either in his office or as he made the rounds of the various activities.

This informal method

seemed to enhance the eooperativeness on the part of the de­ partment officials*

For one thing, the administrative offi­

cer offered a recourse for the settlement of disputed actionb arising from the semi-autonomous positions of the department heads.

In other instances the job of the department head had

been simplified for, having only his own department to think about, he could now pass all the problems of coordination to the new official*

Yet, the institution of new leadership in

the city administration which was helping to get things done by installing new methods and procedures could not help but

71 upset established custom.

It was not easy for the old em­

ployee to change his way of doing things, particularly when in the past it was upon him that the council depended.

In

situations where the municipal administrative officer was eased into his position from another city office, instances of uncertainty as to continuing relationships between the department head and his erstwhile colleagues were mentioned. In cases where the relationships were clearly defined there seemed to be no need of either to feel that the other might sabotage his ideas before they reached the council.

To help

prevent any adverse reaction on the part of the regular staff in one city, the city council Informed all the department heads, with the new officer present, of what was expected of the new experiment in their municipal management.

Thus an

opportunity was afforded at the beginning of the o f f i c i a l s term to resolve some of the conflicts which might ultimately come • Relations with commissions and boards.

Montebello’s

Co-ordinator and San Gabriel’s Administrative Officer were the only officials granted explicit permission in their creating instruments to attend board and commission meetings. The former was authorized to attend all meetings,^*9 and the

19

, Resolution if25, Sec. 2 (c).

72 latter to attend all meetings, to take part in their dis­ cussions, but not to vote*20

This latter procedure was

followed by most of the other cities*

One officer likened

his relationship to boards and commissions to that with his department heads; for, while not an ex-officio member, he often attended meetings and he worked with all.

In National

City, the administrative officer sat with the boards only when specifically asked to do so* A few officers have played an active role in this phase of administration.

In Monterey Park the officer was a

voting member of the Planning Commission and was permitted to attend all commission meetings.

The Administrative Offi­

cer of Newport Beach was Secretary of the Joint City and County Harbor Committee although his participation in other standing commissions was limited.

Oceanside*s administrator

was Chairman of the Recreation Commission, a joint venture between the city and several school districts, and was Clerk of the Board of Review (personnel board).

Only indirectly

did most of the administrative officers have anything to say about the composition of commissions and boards.

However,

because of their position and the time which could be given to the problem, they were inevitably influential and were

Resolution 693, Sec. 1|_.

73 often called to recommend membership* Relationship with the citizens*

Two paragraphs in the

Montebello Plan instruments were concerned with public re­ lations.

Th^ first was a general stipulation that the ad­

ministrative officer shall promote good relations with the citizen by endeavoring to adjust all reasonable complaints against the employees or services of the city.

The second

called upon the officer to "cooperate with all community or­ ganizations whose aim and purpose it is to advance the ma­ terial and spiritual interests of the city and its people 11 and to render them assistance through the city government*

Pi

At least eight municipal administrative officers had definite commitments toward the citizens.

A more positive approach

was taken toward the citizen than merely that of adjusting complaints, however*

For one thing, most cities instituted

a policy of immediate action on correspondence received b e ­ tween council meetings*

The administrative officer was to

open all mail addressed to the city council and act to remedy any legitimate complaint if it was within his administrative capacity to do so.

If this was impossible, the matter was

brought up at the next council meeting*

Reports were also

given of any actions taken as a result of correspondence*

21

El Monte Ordinance, Sec. 1 (i), (s). Inglewood’s Ordinance has the phrase "within lawful limits" included in the community organization statement.

Newspaper publicity has been a ticklish problem in promoting good city hall feeling*

Some administrative offi­

cers contacted the editor of the local newspaper when first accepting their position and solicited cooperation in estab­ lishing good administration*

One officer suggested that any

criticism of the city administration be first reviewed with him in order that there might be no misunderstanding on either side as to the facts of a case .22

The writer found

little opposition of the press toward integrated city admin­ istration although some criticism was expressed by individ­ uals in the letters to the editor columns*

One city admin­

istrator said that the cooperation of the local paper was excellent, so much so in fact that he has become the clear­ ing house for every citizen matter, large or small. One of the points of contention between city councils and their administrative agent was the matter of recognition through publicity*

While each officer questioned on this

problem firmly stated that the council should receive the credit for city accomplishments, they were aware of the pro­ blem of getting the local editors to follow through*

The

use of a single responsible source of information in a story was considered by the newspaperman to be far better than the more elusive “City Hall sources say . . *l! or even “City

22

Tellefson. Interview.

75 Council said • . .u . Not all or th© municipal administrative officer*s pub­ lic contacts are necessarily on the official level*

While

it is true that, in effect, he is the administrative officer twenty-four hours a day, he usually leaves the city hall sometime during the week for direct contacts with citizens. Most of the officers belonged to the chambers of commerce in their respective cities; many belonged to such service or­ ganizations as the Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Clubs, and other business and professional organizations*

Particularly in

the small community these official, yet social, relation­ ships were felt to be important because it increased o n e ’s availability to the citizens.

In addition to these limited

contacts, the officers considered their effectiveness in­ creased by speaking to local groups and lending their per­ sonal as wellas official support to community enterprises. The municipal administrative officers felt that to be truly effective they must be supported by an overwhelming public opinion and must be tenable to all segments of the popula­ tion. SUMMARY Called upon by the councils of the respective cities to assume administrative responsibilities,

the municipal ad­

ministrative officer coordinates departmental activities and

76 is responsible for general administrative supervision in­ cluding some personnel and fiscal matters.

His position in

most cities as the purchasing agent gives him more control over fiscal activities since ultimate control over personnel is focused in the council*

Problems which confront the ad­

ministrative officer are not altogether unique, but the effectiveness of his work with his council, department heads, commissions and boards, and citizens is largely of individ­ ual capacity.

Chosen by a city council to integrate munici­

pal functions, the individual officer may effect more by his personality than by virtue of his rather undefinable organi­ zational position.

CHAPTER V

THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: CONCEPTS OF OFFICE As reported in the preceding discussion the activi­ ties expected of an administrative officer differ little from those of a city manager.

In fact, it is exceedingly

difficult to divorce these two municipal officers in evalu­ ating the performance of one with the other*

There are,

however, a few items of a more specific nature which may help one to understand the peculiar position of the munici­ pal administrative officer in California city government* Among these are a consideration of the "democratic11 status of this form of municipal management, the source and extent of the authority under which the administrative officer func­ tions, and his place in the establishment of municipal pol­ icy* THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER AND DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION A salient feature in the investigation reported here was the opinion of the proponents of the municipal adminis­ trative officer plan that administration through an adminis­ trative officer was more democratic than administration re-

suiting from the council-manager plan*

An element of this

attitude has already been suggested in the discussion o f the antipathy of certain groups and persons toward the title or 11city manager” that.

But there is more to the conviction than

Basically it is allied with the concept of delegation

of authority and of the relative role of the municipal ad­ ministrative officer and the city manager in policy making* This is characterized in the thought that the term ”city manager form of government” is broad and somewhat misleading. Some municipal officials have indicated that to them such a statement means a form of government in which one man is given extreme powers.

Boards and commissions are merely ad­

visory to him; the council also has been relegated to an ad­ visory position.

It is a form In which a man can become a

virtual dictator. This is a problem in terminology, in semantics, a con­ dition which may be the consequence of the international tenor during the past decade.

Any semblance of one-man

government was frequently associated with national leaders. It seems to be forgotten that in the notorious incidents of national dictatorship legislative authority responsible to the electorate had vanished.

This attitude may be allied to

the two extremes suggested by Harold D. Smith that on the one hand there are those who hold that government is a bungling

1

Supra, p. 27«r29

79 bureaucracy, paralyzed by inertia, and lacking in imagina­ tion; on the other, there are those who believe government to be continually aggressive, over ambitious, and eager to seize responsibility.

It is reassuring to know that the

belief that any honest citizen can carry out the responsi­ bilities of government is now being supplanted by Twentieth Century belief that knowledge and ability are necessary.

P

An editorial in the National Municipal Review deplored the use of the term "manager-plan" instead of "councilmanager" as it obscured the fact that the plan is an approved form of democratic control.

The council-manager plan actu­

ally, the editorial went on to say, "is in answer to those who sometimes wonder whether the dictator nations don't have an important advantage over us in their vaunted ability to get things done".

Quoting Richard S. Childs it further

stated, "In a democracy the expert is on tap, not on top".3 Several cities considered their term with a municipal admin­ istrative officer as a step toward the eouncil-manager plan. Others thought it very probable that as their city grew and an enlightened populace developed, they too might emerge

Harold D. Smith, "Management in a Democracy," National Municipal Review, l \ 2 :lj-76-77, October, I9I12. 3 Editorial, "Management vs. Dictatorship," o£. cit.

80 with, a city manager. "Democracy cannot function properly through a compli­ cated organization which it cannot visualize and cannot com­ prehend.

Whether or not the custom of utilizing multi­

headed boards and commissions on all levels of government in these United States affords the people an appropriate pin­ point for praise or complaint is a question which may not be solved here.

Nevertheless, on the local level, practical

management must come forward.

The existance of the munici­

pal administrative officer plan is an indication that cities recognize this problem. THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: HIS AUTHORITY

Two inevitable problems which must arise from a dis­ cussion of the municipal administrative officer and his position in city government are:

(1 ) the source of his

authority to administer and (2 ) whether or not the authority which he has is commensurate with his responsibility.

It is

not questioned that authority is delegated to him, it is the degree which is the variable factor. Source of Authority.

It is interesting to note that

the Short Ballot Organization sought to have full adminis-

Gapes, o£. cit., p. 179#

81 trative authority delegated to the administrator with the reservation that the council still be allowed a free hand in giving orders to the city manager.

The National Municipal

League, on the other hand, proposed that specific functions and duties of all officers be included in charters.

This

was for the express purpose of prohibiting the council from attempting to influence or control the administrative affairs of the city manager.

The Short Ballot group wanted the

council to be responsible to the people for every detail of administration for it believed that there could be no poli­ tical responsibility for that which they were not legally responsible.

The group felt that the progress of the idea

of integrated government would be greater and more consistent resulting in the more extended use of expert administrators if there were no direct legal authority given them and no responsibility held except to the councils.^ i/Vhite holds that delegation of authority is revocable and subject to modification at the will of the delegating official and suggests three types of delegation; (1 ) that to an

ego, such as a department head authorizing a subor­

dinate to be an acting head;

(2 ) delegation to an alter ego

with respect to specific subject matter, such as might be given to an assistant head; and (3 ) that authority delegated to one for the performance of duties of a specific office.

Stone, © t * a l ., o p . cit., pp. 1*7—18.

82 The authority should be as precise and specific as possible because the maintenance of a smooth working organization is influenced by the location and delegation of authority.

6

In the case of the municipal administrative officer, it has already been stated that ultimate authority for ad­ ministrative action remains in the city council*

While an

outline of his duties may appear in an official pronounces ment by the council in the form of an ordinance or resolu­ tion, the council has complete jurisdiction over the office itself*7

Following the general provisions of the General

Laws of the State or their Charter, City Councils have, in the words of Mooney and Reily, conferred on their adminis­ trative officers "certain specified authority by a higher a u t h o r i t y .

Such delegation is held to be no transfer of

authority, but a correlation of authority and, likewise, of respons ibili ty.9 Extent of authority.

The extent of authority delega­

ted by city councils to municipal administrative officers

6

White, 0£. cit., pp.

6*

^ City of Culver City, Charter, Sec. 600.

8 James D. Mooney and Alan C. Riley, Onward Industry. (Hew York: Harper and Brothers, I93I). Q 7 James D'. Mooney, "The Principles of Organization11 in Luther Gulick and L. Urwick, editors, Papers on theScience of Administration (2nd ed*; Hew York: Institute of Public Admin­ istration, 1937), P. 9^*

83 approximates of that city managers except that the power of appointment and dismissal of subordinate officials and em­ ployees is withheld.

It was previously suggested that it is

this principle of personnel control wherein lies the de facto difference between the bona fide city manager and the municipal administrative officer.

Whether or not this basis

for difference is sound, that there can be truly effective management without the coerciveness of ultimate discipline, has been a matter of conjecture among both the practitioner and the management theorists.

Activity of the municipal

administrative officer in initiating action for council con­ sideration is another area wherein there is a decided differ* ence of opinion, but not on a city manager-administrative officer basis.

The peculiar position of the administrative

officer leads him, in some instances, to consider this pro­ blem closely. Hiring and firing.

White says that one of the out­

standing achievements of the council-manager plan is the recognition that appointments of department heads and employ­ ees should be absolutely non-political and made without reference to or control by the council.10 The Model city Charter proposes on this point that the city manager

10 Leonard D. White, The City Manager (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, I9 2 7 ), pp. 203-4,

The

appoint and, when necessary Tor the good of the ser­ vice, remove all officers and employees of the city except as otherwise provided by this charter and ex­ cept as he may authorize the head of a department or office to appoint and remove subordinates in such department or office The stand of the International City Managers* Association on the matter was reiterated by Clarence E* Ridley in corres­ pondence with the writer*

f,We consider it essential,” he

wrote, 11that the manager have the privilege of hiring, fir­ ing, and controlling his department heads.

Without such

authority he has no administrative control*’1^ Luther Gulick has listed discipline as one of the techniques of coordination and in this the problem of hiring and firing.

However, he questions the viewpoint that in'

order to have any semblance of good organization structure and administrative coordination the power to hire and fire must follow hierarchical lines.

The thinking among students

of public administration, and shared by American business, that no man can run a business unless he has free and un­ limited power to hire and fire may call for a reconsidera­ tion.

He adds,

National Municipal League, (fifth edition; New York National Municipal League, 19^1), Art. Ill, sec. 2$ (1)* 12

Letter to writer, November llj., 19i|.7.

85 From the standpoint of modern management, however, competent observers have come to see that this approach is neither justified by the facts nor con­ ducive to effective results* In practical situa­ tions employers do not as a matter of fact have the power to fire, even when there is legal right. There are public relations, and increasingly there are labor unions. Frequently employers do not have the unlimited power to appoint. Here again there are standards, public relations, said closed shops. An individual minor executive in a large corporation generally has his employees selected for him. He is not free to either hire or fire. These limitations of the right to hire and fire are destined, it is clear, to become more and more restrictive. It becomes increasingly clear, therefore, that the task of the administrator must be accomplished less and less by coercion and discipline and more and more by persuasion. In other words, management of the future must look more to leadership and less to authority as the primary means of co-ordination.*3 It is this feeling which prevailed among the most ar­ dent proponents of the administrative officer movement.

The

increasing adoption of some type of merit system has placed the personnel of a number of California towns, including many council-manager cities, under civil service commissions and boards .1^* THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: POLICY MAKING

-*•3 Luther Guliek, ,!Notes on the Theory of Organization,11 in Gulick and Urwick, ojd. cit., P. 39. City managers as a class tend to be lukewarm toward the orthodox civil service system because of the restrictions which it places over recruitment, discipline and removal. John M # Pfiffner, Municipal Administration (New York: The Ronald Press Company, I94O ), p. 13,

86 The position of the municipal administrative officer in policy making is similar to that of the relationship b e ­ tween any legislative body and those who are to administer its enacted laws, i.e., it has yet to be clearly defined, Riehard Oaves, Executive Director of the League of California Cities, has asserted that because of the position of the City Manager as chief administrator he inevitably takes a stand on questions of policy.

The idea that he is concerned

only with matters of administration and had no obligation or responsibility for policy is nothing but a ftsacred cow11. ^ Frank L. Cloud, City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee, during the 1 920 *3, believed that city managers should remain out of policy matters allowing councilmen to unquestionably bear the responsibilities for municipal affairs*

Following

that practice, Cloud never feared that individual council­ men would interfere with his administrative work for politi­ cal reasons because a majority of the council was always composed of men who were drafted to serve, not men who sought political careers for themselves*^

Another authority on

15

Richard Craves, "The Challenge of Top Management," Public Management. 29*352, December, 19i^7.

16

Harold A. Stone, Don K. Price, and Kathryn H. Stone, City Manager Government in NineCities. (Chicago: Public Ad­ ministration Service, 19lp)), pp* 522-23*

municipal government thought there might be a danger or giv­ ing too much prominence to the city manager and so make him a political issue.

He felt that the city administrator

should certainly remain in the background as far as the pub­ lic is concerned.^

One writer reports that 11the eclipsing

of the representative council or commission by an appointed officer will tend to inhibit the self-governing instincts of the people, a decided danger to the advance of democracy. A municipal administrative officer reiterated this feeling in speaking of the publicity of municipal activities when he said that all credit should be given to the city council. It should not be 11the Chief Aiministrative Officer does this, etc.” but rather, 11the City Council has instructed the Chief Administrative officer to . . .” .

With this approach, he

felt, there was added another element to efficient adminis­ tration, while maintaining all prerogatives of the represen­ tative government.^9

Those Municipal AdministrativeOfficers

who initiate matters for possible council action should not assume that the council is in a position to accept all their recommendations.

^

Capes, ojd. cit. , p . 169, quoting Herman Gerlach

James. ■1 Q

Ibid., quoting from Canadian Municipal Journal. November, 1920.

19

Tellefson, informal interview.

88 This concept of office responsibility is remarkably similar to that propounded by Richard Ghilds in a speech made over thirty years ago to city managers.

It was his

contention that the manager had no professional responsibil­ ity to enforce laws which the council did not want enforced. Neither did he have any responsibility to oppose wishes by the council of appointments for partisan reasons.

“The

manager should not”, he said, “assume to set up his own standard.

His function is only to give as good an adminis­

tration as the commission will take responsibility for.”^ This passive role of the city manager goes hand in hand with the viewpoint of the Short Ballot Organization that legisla­ tive bodies should keep the prerogative of appointment of subordinate officials aad employees*21 If there are any grounds for a municipal coordinating official that officer cannot escape policy making.

In his

capacity as an advisor on those things which a council does not have the time to consider thoroughly, his recommendations, called for by the instruments creating his office, are part of the policy making process. authority for anything.

The officer is not the final

While he may advise the council it

is under no obligation to follow his proposals.

It is re—

20 National Municipal Review. 5:195-210, April, 1916. 21 Supra. p. 81.

89 alized that it is upon this right that a claim to a separate area of policy formulation is based* A clearer understanding of the relative positions of policy and administration on the municipal level has been aptly brought out in the suggestion that there are two kinds of leadership, often unnecessarily and disastrously confused. One is that of political leadership which should be grounded in the grass roots with direct responsibility, the other is administrative leadership of technical competance resting on special knowledge and experience.

!Ehe first acts as a broker

between the community and the expert. SUMMARY Whether or not the municipal administrative officer plan is more democratic in nature than the city manager plan depends primarily on the point of view of the inquirer.

If

the manager is seen as one carrying out, directions of the elected representatives, with a responsibility and full un­ derstanding of legislative intent, then the phrase none man government” has no meaning.

If, on the other hand, the mana­

ger is seen as one who uses his office to personal advantage

22

Charles E; Merriam, MDanger Zones Between Politics and Administration,” Public Management. 28:290, October, 191^6.

90 because of bis administrative "know-how”, who, through appointment and removal power of* his employees, builds an empire, then the concept o f "dictatorship” may be present. When, within the council-manager cities, there is a strong merit system and more particularly if* there is a citizen civil service commission or personnel board so that authority to dismiss and employ personnel is in a position for review, then there seems to be little difference between the city manager1s administrative position and the position of the administrative officer.

Where the municipal admin­

istrative officer is pictured as a coordinator, with no authority to act of himself, the difference between his posi­ tion and that of the city manager becomes more pronounced. The position in recommending matters which are primarily political in nature is quite the same in the two offices. There is no standard or rules formulated as yet for the muni­ cipal administrative officer.

It would be premature to make

a true comparison of the two offices in this area of munici­ pal administration.

CHAPTER V I

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS To draw from this brief survey of the municipal admin­ istrative officer opinionated principles which might reflect future activity or express conclusive statements in refer­ ence to its development, would be presumptous.

The short

span of time covered by the study— three years— cannot be discounted, but, as ideas and concepts generally change dur­ ing formative periods one cannot think of the plan as having yet become Institutionalized*

With this in mind it is be­

lieved appropriate to review the plan’s general developments as they have been outlined in the foregoing chapters.

Cer­

tain trends have already been indicated as to the direction the movement is going; it would be well to recall then. Finally, a few postulates can be set forth which distinguish the administrative officer from the city manager.

This last

section, if it serves its purpose, should contain the es­ sence of this report* UNDERLYING CAUSES The fundamental reason for the adoption of an adminis­ trative officer plan was the growing realization of the ad­ ministrative irresponsibility resulting from the councilcommission form of governmental organization.

This was man-

92 ifested In the lack of coordination between services, ab­ sence of integrated authority and the time consumming direc­ tion required of a part-time, inadequately compensated citi­ zen group*

In the actual developmental process, however,

other elements became involved to the extent that to dis­ tinguish between cause and effect was difficult.

Drawing

from the determinants as they have been discussed there are a few which stand out more clearly than others as being primary factors. First of all it must be kept in mind that the councilmanager and the council-administrative officer plans are derivatives of similar governmental malfunctionings.

To

reiterate a statement previously made, none of the elemental reasons indicated are peculiar to the municipal administra­ tive officer movement.

Nevertheless, there was reason to

believe that in a few instances the city manager idea figured little in the process toward integrated administration.

It

was in such cases that the desired administrative control was generally conferred on an incumbent official as an addi­ tion to his other d u t i e s T o

some, the appointment of an

administrative officer was a means of circumventing the law by cities which were not quite willing to follow the pre­ cedent set by other municipalities in establishing a manager

1

«

Supra*, pp. 29, 30.

93 form without full legal sanction.^ Another reason was the belief that the administrative officer would serve as a means of education where it was un­ likely that a populace would vote in the council-manager plan or support the council if it were to establish the plan by ordinance.

The placement of an administrative officer,

it was felt, helped in the achievement of benefits hereto­ fore derived only through a manager*

Apparent success of a

chief administrative officer in large government units also contributed to some extent in the development of positive public opinion for the pi an *3

Finally, the attention to

cities functioning with an administrative officer, whose accomplishments were propagated with an almost missionary zeal by a few proponents, resulted in the institution of the plan in some observant communities.^These contributions to the development of the munici­ pal administrative officer concept should not be construed to be separate and distinct in their influence but rather as part of an intricate group of circumstances.

It would be

impossible to determine just why a city approved and adopted one of the varieties of the plan.

2 Supra., pp. 21, 22. Supra., pp. 31, 32. ^ Supra., pp. 1+lp, 1+5.

In all of the instances

9k which came to the writer*s attention, there was a combina­ tion of causes, each contributing to a greater or lesser de­ gree to the final decision.

To thus categorize is but to

attempt to break into component parts the result of question­ ing many of those directly involved in the plan. An endeavor has been made to show that the municipal executive with a limited amount of administrative control is not a recent innovation peculiar to California cities.

Yet,

some contemporary students of local government have expressed unfamiliarity with the administrative office as it has devel­ oped in Southern California during the immediate post World War II years.

Clarence Ridley has indicated that so far as

he knew the concept of the Chief Administrative Officer originated in California and it is the only state which has such a local governing officer. on the subject.5

He knew of no literature

A member of the research staff of the

University of California*s Bureau of Public Administration felt the chief administrative officer and the city manager was merely titles for the same municipal officer.

He based L this, he wrote, on a comparative study of the two offices. On this basis, the writer would tend to agree, but the fact

remains that the place of ultimate administrative authority

5 ft

Letter to writer, November llf, 19ij.7. John R. McKinley, letter to writer, November 13, 19lj.7.

95 differs considerably in those cities under one plan com­ pared to those who prefer the other* The original Staunton Plan, the reader will recall, was suggested as being more akin to the municipal adminis­ trative officer plan than to the city manager of today.7 References also have been made to other manager types in local government literature*®

Stone, Price and Stone have

mentioned the confusion arising from the t!Manager of Opera­ tions11, some of whom were members of the International City Managers* Association as late as 1929.

These three inves­

tigators said that San I>iego was widely, though erroneously, known as a manager city.9

Today administrative officers

may join the International City Managers* Association, but not as active members.

The League of California Cities con­

siders the city manager and the administrative officer in a similar category, making no differentiation in terms Of the activities of its City Managers* Section*

In instances

where the writer has observed the two municipal officers to­ gether there have been no apparent professional differences manifested.

This in itself is a recognition of the niche

which the administrative officer has made for himself by

f

7 Supra., pp. 13, lij..

8

1*1-3.

Supra., pp. 25.

9 City Manager Government in Nine Cities, op. cit., p. '

96 utilizing technical and professional skills in the art and science of administration. No, it cannot be said that California cities have evolved a new form of municipal administration but if there is any one distinguishing feature divorcing the concept from near manager plans it is the cohesiveness of the move­ ment.

Fifteen cities experimented in a similar attempt to

bring intelligent management to cope with administrative problems.

The fact that a common pattern was followed, that

geographically the cities were centralized, and that a sym­ pathetic attitude on the part of established city managers was demonstrated, characterized the locally developed plan. What might be forthcoming from all this cannot be forecast with accuracy, but a brief speculation will help

round out

o n e fs thinking on the subject. OUTLOOK FOR THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER PLAN Future and contemporary implications of the counciladministrative officer plan have been aptly put by Louis Burke.

It was his opinion that in a city where the adminis­

trative details are not too complex, where a group of five or more individuals, acting collectively as one, can inspect the construction of new roads and supervise the purchase of an up-to-date street sweeper there is probably no need for a separate official to handle purely administrative affairs.

97 Ihere administrative problems have become so complex as to make impracticable close personal supervision by council members, the administrative officer plan might be adopted as a means of giving adequate consideration to these problems* However, when policy making and legislative functions con­ sume all the available time of the councilman, then transi­ tion to the council-manager plan, with all the administra­ tive responsibilities referred to the city manages might be more f e a s i b l e # ^ fhe writer tends to agree with this idea that in the long run the municipal administrative officer will serve as a stepping stone*

Xn fact, developments in some of the

cities investigated were such that an ultimate adoption of the council manager plan was imminent in several c a s e s . ^ On the other hand, there is reason to believe that in those cities where the administrative officer is well established, where the council depends more and more upon the officer to exercise coordination, and where the merit system is secure, there is every indication that a change in the administra-

Interview* A succinct description of the transition of a city to the council-manager form which developed through a period of administration by an administrative officer is given in an editorial reproduced as Appdndix D*

98 tiv© structure of the city would not in any way be enhanced by the adoption of the council-manager plan It is reasonable to expect that other California cities will adopt the plan in one or another of its forms during the next few years.

Perhaps a ten year period is the least

time that the true measure of worth and stability of the administrative officer can be shown.

!£he weathering of

changes in public opinion, and of the election of new, and sometimes skeptical, councilmen and other important offi­ cials, will do much to crystallize the plan.

Also, the

maturation of the individual officer which can result only from years of experience will influence the trends in the future.

If he is able to hold his own in what some admin­

istrators and students of government feel to be an insecure position, to maintain professional standards of service and bring sound integrated administration without full "line11 authority, the officer's place in municipal affairs Is reasonably secure.

If on the other hand, the contrary pre­

vails, then one can reasonably expect the municipal adminis­ trative officer plan to fade as a segment of local adminis­ tration. CONCLUSION In resume, several conclusions relative to the func-

99 tioning of the municipal administrative officer have been reached.

These are not meant to be maxims of office, but

rather a presention of elements as the writer views them. 1.

The administrative officer is predominantly a

product of General Law cities, although he has achieved apparent success in a few Gharter cities. 2.

The Statutory power under which the officer is

appointed is contained in the General Law provision that city councils may appoint subordinate officials. 3.

The officer may be appointed by a council in any

of the three ways by which it legally acts:

by ordinance,

by resolution, or by a simple motion. 1|-.

The appointment of a municipal administrative

officer in no way impairs the full legal administrative authority and responsibility of a city council. 5?.

The concept of administrative control without the

right to employ and dismiss subordinate officers and employ­ ees is not peculiar to the municipal administrative officer movement. 6.

The brevity of the establishing instrument does

not reflect the scope of the officer1s administrative con­ trol. 7*

The title of the chief administrator is not nec­

essarily an indication of administrative prerogatives.

100 8*

Hie administrative officer is not personally pro­

tected in tenure except where he is covered by civil service regulations* 9*

Hie official relationships of the administrative

officer are most important, particularly in relation with the department heads over whom his control is an "authority of ideas". 10.

Hie municipal administrative officer does, on

occasion, suggest recommendations for appointments as de­ partment heads and for vacancies on boards and commissions. 11.

Hiere is a belief among some officers that due to

the indeterminant boundaries of council delegation, they have an opportunity for a broader field of coordinative activity than have some city managers who are bound by or­ dinance or charter provisions. 12.

Hie administrative officer is even more conscious

of his position in the city administration than the city manager, whose tradition normally brings him to the fore­ front.

It was a general feeling among the officers that

their "passions for anonymity" should be surpassed only by their effectiveness In directing municipal activities. In view of all this, the writer believes the remark of one authority, when questioned as to his knowledge of the plan, to be rather adamant.

Hie chief administrative offi­

cer plan sounded to him, he wrote,

101 like an attempt to obtain the benefits of city manager government without doing the things that * are necessary in order to obtain these benefits* It is the sort of thing that would be resorted to by a group that claimed to want better local govern­ ment, but whose leadership# lacked the good sense or the courage--or* both— to do what needed to be done in order to get i t .^2 Efforts to bring integrated administration and pro­ fessionally trained administrators together in the manage­ ment of public affairs in truly an energetic process in California municipal administration.

City manager, co­

ordinator, city administrator, chief administrative officer, whatever the title, are but a symbol of the change that is taking place.

To the two elements essential for this change,

integrated authority and the expert administrator, the writer would add, upon the suggestion of the late Professor Lent D. Upson, but one more ingredient, f,a more intelligent, though not necessarily increased, participation in govern­ ment by the people.“13

12

W. Brooke Graves, Chief, State Law Section, The Library of Congress Legislative Reference Service. Letter to writer, February 6 , 19if8 . 11

Practice of Municipal Administration (NewYork: Century Co., 1925), p.

The

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A.

BOOKS.

Bollens, John C., and Jbhn R. McKinley, California City Governm e n t • Berkeley, California: Bureau of Public Administra­ tion, University of California, I9I4.8 . 69 pp. Capes, William P., The Modern City and Its York: .E, P. Button and Company, 1922*

Government* New 269 pp.

City Managers* Association, Sixth Yearbook of the City Man­ agers 1 Association, New York: City Managers* Associa­ tion, 1920, 183 pp. Crouch, Winston W . , and Dean E. McHenry, Cal ifornia Govern­ men t. Revised edition; Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univer­ sity of California Press, 1959 • k-07 PP. Deering, General Laws of the State of Cal ifornia. 3 vols. San Francisco; Bancroft-Whitney Company, I9A4J4-. Vol. II. 2692 pp. Gulick, Luther, "Notes on the Theory of Organization,11 in Luther Gulick and L. Urwick (Eds.), Papers on the Science of Ad­ ministration. Institute of Public AdmTni stration, 19T7TT97 pp. Hodges, Henry, City Management. Co., 1939* 759 PP.

New York:

F. S. Crofts and

International City Managers’ Association, Recent CouncilManager Developments and Directory of Counci1-Manager Cities. Chicago: International City Managers* Associa­ tion, 1947• 20 pp. James, Herman Gerlach, What is the City-Manager Plan. Univer­ sity of Texas Bulletin No. 1702, January 5, 1957, Muni­ cipal Research Series No. llj.. Revised; Austin, Texas: University Press, 1917. 33 pp. Jordan, Frank M . , compiler, California Official Roster, First 1959-revision; Sacramento, California: California State Printing Office, 1959* 22? pp. ;Macdonald, Austin F . , American City Government and Administra­ tion. Fourth edition; New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1^5. 657 p p .

Mooney, James P., “The Principles of Organization,ft in Luther Gulick and L. Urwick (Eds.), Papers on the Science of Administration. New York: Institute of Public Adminis­ tration, 1937* 197 pp* _______ , and Alan G. Reilly, The Principles of Organization. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1939* 223 PP* National Municipal League, Model City Charter. Fifth edition, New York: National Municipal League, 19^1. llj-l pp. Pfiffner, John M., Municipal Administration. Ronald Press Company, 194-01 $62 p p . ’

New York:

The

_______ , Public Admini s tr a t ion . Revised edition; New York: The Ronald Press Company, 19^4-6* 621 pp. Ridley, Clarence E., and Orin F. Molting, Editors, The Muni­ cipal Year Book 19i|.9* Chicago.: The International City Managers1 Association, 19^9* 550 PP* Stone, Harold A., Don K. Price, and Kathryn H. Stone, City Manager Government in Nine Cities. Chicago: Public Ad­ ministration Service, I9I4D. 5 ^ pp. _______ , City Manager Government in the United States. Public Administration Service, 19i|f>. 279 PP* White, Leonard D., The City Manager. of Chicago Press, 1927. 355 p p ♦

Chicago:

Chicago

The University

_________ Introduction to the Study of Public Administration. Third Edition; New York: The Macmillan Company, I9I4.B• 612 pp. Upson, Lent D., Practice of Municipal Administration. The Century Co., 1926. 588"”p p . ’ B.

New York

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Adolf son, L. H., “The County Clerk as Manager,11 National Municipal Review, 3ii:125-28, March, I9I45. Childs, Richard S., “Theories of Responsive Government Prove Practical,11 Public Management, 29:353-57* December, I 9I47.

, "Professional Standards and Professional Ethics in the Hew Profession of City Manager," National Municipal Review, 5•195-201, April, 1916. Editorial, "Management vs. Dictatorship," National Municipal Review, 31 :474~75> October, 1932* Graves, Richard, "The Challenge of Top Management," Public Management, 29:350-53* December, 1947. _______ , "Council Manager Government in California Cities," Western City, 23:25-29* June, 1947* Levit, Bert W., "San Francisco’s Unique Charter," National Municipal Review, 34:273-77* June, 194-5• Merriam, Charles E., "Danger Zones Between Politics and Ad­ ministration, " Public Management, 28:290-1, October, 194-6* Smith, Harold D., "Management in a Democracy," National Muni­ cipal Review, 4-2:4-7o-80, October, 194-2* C.

MISCELLANEOUS

California Constitution, 1879* as amended. Gruendler, Carl E. ^ "Assumption of Administrative Responsibility By City Clerks*" As extension of rema?ks made before the Finance Officers Department Session of the League of Cali­ fornia Cities Annual Conference held in San Francisco, September 22 to 24* 1947. Hectographed copy, 4 PP* Hormell, Orren Chalmer, Maine Towns* Bowdoin College Bulletin No. 198. August 1 9 3 ^ Municipal Research Series no. 9* Brunswick, Maine: Bowdoin College, 1932, 101 pp, f

McDiaimid, John, Streamlined County Government Los Angeles Style* Reprinted from the National Municipal Review, Nov­ ember, 1939* 7 pp. Pfiffner, John M * , The City Manager Plan in Iowa* Reprinted from the October, 1928 and the January, 1929 Numbers of The Iowa Journal of History and Politi cs publisfed at Iowa City.by the State Historical Society of Iowa. 152 pp..

io5 D.

CORRESPONDENCE ‘

Bebout, John E., Assistant Secretary, National Municipal League, December 3, 1947* Gardner, Howard, Assistant Director, League of California Gities, May 17, 194^* Graves, W. Brooke, Chief, State Law Section, Legislative Ref­ erence Service, The Library of Congress, February 6 , 194$* McKinley, John R., Senior Research Technician, Bureauof Public Administration, University of California,- November 13, . 1947* Ridley, Clarence E . , Director, International City Managers1 Association, November II4., 1947. Stevens, George W . , Administrative Officer, City of Torrance, March 25, 194®* Tellefson, Michael, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Culver City, April 2, 194$* Whaley, Harry R., City Clerk, City of Redlands, £. October, 1947* E.

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

City of Colton, Ordinance No. 698, October 14, 194&* City of Culver City, Resolution No. 6468, January II4., 194&* City of Glendora, Resolution No. 767, January 27, 194-8• City of Hawthorne, Ordinance _No. 453, November 25, 1947* City of Huntington Beach, Ordinance No. 524, January 26, 1948* City of Inglewood, Ordinance No., 9 1 2 , October 1, 1946, City of El Monte, Ordinance No. 362 , April 21, 1947* City of Montebello, Resolution No. 3027*. April l6 , 1945. _______ , Ordinance No. 392, June 17, 194&*

io6 _______ , Resolution No. 4 251, October 6 , 1947. City of Monterey PQ-3^> Resolution No.

4^5*8, March 11, 1948.

City of National City, Resolution No.

ifl76, August, 1948#

City of Newport Beach, Resolution, Unnumbered, Undated. City of Oceanside, Ordinance No. 550, March 5» 3-947. City of San Gabriel, Resolution No. 693 * P.

3.1, 3.943*

INTERVIEWS

Bruton, Ruth, City Clerk, El Monte, March 12, 1948. Burke, Louis H., Attorney, former City Attorney of Montebello and Legal Advisor, League of California Cities, February

10, 1956. Coffey, George W., City Services Manager, Redlands.

February

13 , 1958. Davis, Don C., Administrative Officer, Monterey Park. ruary 26 , 1948 .

Feb­

Dickson, Delaven J., Administrative Officer, National City. March 19, 1958* Duff, Emerson L., City Administrator, Glendora.

March 12,

194.8 Fletcher, Ted., Councilman and former Mayor, Redlands. ruary 13 , 1948.

Feb­

Gardner, Howard, Assistant Director, League of California Cities. February 22, 1948. Graves, Richard, Executive Director, League of California Cities. February 22, 1948. Gruendler, Carl E., City Clerk and Administrative Officer, San Gabriel. February 5» 1948* Hyink, Bernard, Councilman, Redlands, February 15, 1948. Jones, F. H., Auditor, Colton.

Informal.

107 Karnes, Samuel W . , City Clerk, Montebello# Kemp, Lloyd, Co-ordinator, Montebello.

February 26,

Informal.

Neal, James E., Administrative Officer, Oceanside. 194-8* Peiffer, H. G., City Clerk, South Gate.

March 19#

March 26, 194-8.

Ridley, Clarence E., Executive Director, International City Managers* Association. February 22,, 194-8. Riggs, E. H., Administrative Officer, El Monte. 194-8.

March 12,

Sailors, John J., City Administrative Officer, Newport Beach, March 19# 194-8* Shelley, Chet., Administrative Officer, Inglewood. 6 , 1947.

November

Stevens, George W., Administrative Officer, Torrance. ruary £, 194-8 * Study, Administrative Officer, Colton.

Feb­

February 13, 194-8.

Tellefson, M., Chief Administrative Officer, Culver City. February 11, 194-8. Updegraff, Winston, Publisher, Western City, February, 194-8* Wilson, Frank E., City Manager, Hawthorne. 1948.

February 26,

APPENDICES

APPEHDIX A

AFPBNDIX A

108

OFFICIAL BULLETIN Civil Service Examination City of Inglewood Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission Vol. 12

December 17, 1948

No. 43

T h e C ivil S ervice C om m ission of th e C ounty of L os A n g eles w ill hold th e ex a m in a tio n s in d icated b elow for th e C ity of In glew ood . A p p li­ c a tio n s m a y b e s e c u re d , a c k n o w le d g e d , a n d filed a t th e P e r s o n n e l O ffice, C ity H a ll, In g lew o o d , C a lifo rn ia . C an d id ates m u st, a t th e d ate of filin g a p p lication s, be C IT IZ E N S of th e U N IT E D S T A T E S a n d u n le s s o th e rw is e o rd e re d b y th e C ity C ouncil, b o n a fide R E S ID E N T S O F T H E C IT Y O F IN G L E W O O D , C A L IF O R N IA , for A T L E A S T O N E Y E A R im m e d ia te ly p re c e d in g t h e d a te of filin g a p p li­ c a tio n s , a n d M U S T B E Q U A L IF IE D E L E C T O R S O F T H E C IT Y O F IN G L E W O O D . S u c c e ssfu l can d id ates, b efore ap p oin tm en t to a p erm an en t p osition , w ill be su b ject to a M EDICAL EX A M IN A T IO N . C an d id ates in any ex a m in a tio n fa ilin g to rece iv e a fin a l ra tin g of 70% w ill be con sid ered as h av in g fa iled in su ch exa m in a tio n . F IL E YOUR A P P L IC A T IO N AS E A R L Y A S P O S S IB L E . In ca se of a tie in fin al ratin g, priority in filin g d eterm in es p riority on th e list.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Open Competitive Examination THE ONE-YEAR CITY RESIDENCE AND CITY ELECTORSHIP REQUIREMENTS ARE WAIVED IN THIS EXAMINATION. HOWEVER, CITY RESIDENCE WILL BE REQUIRED UPON PERMANENT APPOINTMENT. LAST DAY FOR FILING APPLICATIONS— Friday, January 14, 1949, 5 p.m. DATE AND PLACE OF EXAMINATION— To Be Announced S A L A R Y : 600.00 p e r m o n th f irs t six m o n th s ; $650.00 p e r m o n th se co n d six m o n th s ; $750.00 p e r m o n th th e r e a f te r . D U T I E S : T o a c t a s a d m in is tr a tiv e a s s i s t a n t to th e M a y o r a n d C ity C ouncil in all m a tt e r s o f a d m in is tr a tio n a s a s s ig n e d ; to r e p r e s e n t th e M ay o r a n d C ity C o u n c il in d e p a r tm e n ta l m a t te r s o r in c o n ta c ts w ith o th e r g o v e r n m e n ta l ju r is d ic tio n s , c itiz e n s g ro u p s a n d th e lik e; to m a k e a d ­ m in is tr a tiv e o r fiscal in v e s tig a tio n s a s a s s ig n e d ; to f o rm u la te r e c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r im p ro v e m e n t of c ity a d m in is tr a tio n o r o p e ra tio n a n d to p r e p a r e c o m p le te r e p o r ts fo r su b m is sio n to th e M a y o r a n d /o r C ity C o u n c il; to b e re sp o n s ib le fo r c a r r y in g o u t c e r ta in d u tie s c o n n e c te d w ith t h e p u r c h a s in g of su p p lie s , m a te r ia ls , e tc .; to a s s i s t in th e p r e p a r a tio n of th e a n n u a l b u d g e t, an d , a f t e r its a d o p tio n , to a s s is t in a d m i n i s t e r ­ in g i t s p ro v is io n s ; a n d to p e rfo rm s u c h o th e r d u tie s a s m a y b e re q u ire d o r o rd e re d b y th e M ay o r o r C ity C o u n cil. R E Q U I R E M E N T S : Ag e : A ll a g e lim its a r e w a iv e d f o r th is e x a m in a tio n . T r a i n i n g a n d E x p e r i e n c e : G r a d u a tio n fro m a n a c c r e d ite d co lleg e w ith s p e c ia liz a tio n in p u b lic a d m in is tr a tio n , b u s in e s s a d m in is tr a tio n o r e n g in e e rin g . O ne a d d itio n a l y e a r of th e r e q u ire d e x p e rie n c e m a y be s u b s titu te d f o r e a c h y e a r of co lleg e a n d h ig h school. A t le a s t 5 y e a r s ’ r e c e n t a d m in is tr a tiv e e x p e rie n c e in a la rg e b u s in e s s o r g o v e rn m e n ta l a g e n c y OR A t le a s t 5 y e a r s ’ r e c e n t g o v e r n m e n ta l e n g in e e rin g e x p e rie n c e . G E N E R A L Q U A L I F I C A T I O N S : A p p lic a n ts m u s t h a v e a th o ro u g h k n o w led g e of th e p rin c ip le s of m u n ic ip a l a d m in is tr a tio n , p a r tic u la r ly a s r e la te d to th e w o rk of a c ity a d m in is tr a to r ; h a v e a th o r o u g h k n o w le d g e of th e p rin c ip le s a n d m e th o d s of g o v e r n m e n ta l p u r c h a s in g a n d b u d g e ta r y p r o c e d u r e s ; be a b le to a s s is t in b u d g e t p r e p a r a tio n a n d a d m in is tr a tio n a n d in a ll C ity p r o c u re m e n t a c tiv itie s ; h a v e th e a b ility to m a k e a d m in is tr a tiv e a n d fin a n c ia l in v e s tig a tio n s , a n d p r e p a r e r e p o r ts a n d re c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r th e s o lu tio n o f o p e r a tin g p ro b le m s; b e a b le to r e p r e s e n t th e m a y o r in a ll g o v e r n m e n ta l a n d p u b lic c o n ta c ts a n d c a r r y on effe ctiv e p u b lic r e la tio n s ; h a v e a d m in is tr a tiv e a n d e x e c u tiv e a b ility , in te g r ity , r e s o u rc e fu ln e s s , d ip lo m a c y ; be ab le to a s s u m e re s p o n s ib ility a n d e x e rc ise m a tu r e ju d g m e n t; a n d h a v e th e a b ility to w o rk e ffe c tiv e ly w ith fellow em p lo y ees, o th e r g o v e r n m e n ta l a g e n c ie s a n d officials, a n d th e pu b lic.

S P E C I A L I N F O R M A T I O N : A p p lic a n ts c la im in g v e t e r a n ’s p r e fe re n c e m u s t p r e s e n t th e ir h o n o ra b le d is c h a rg e a t tim e o f filin g a p p lic a tio n s . p lic a n ts m u s t s u b m it w ith th e ir a p p lic a tio n s t h e ir u n m o u n te d p h o to g ra p h s ta k e n w ith in tw o y e a rs. A p p lic a tio n s m u s t b e filled o u t in d u p lic a te .

A p­

G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N : F or all assem b led ex a m in a tio n s, the w r itte n , oral, or o p eratin g te sts, or th e te s ts of stren g th , a g ility , en d u ran ce or a com b in ation of th e se w ill be g iv en a w eig h t of a t le a s t 50%. An ev a lu a tio n of ed u cation , exp erien ce and personal su ita b ility , a s v erified by in terv iew , in v estig a tio n , a n d /o r referen ces, w ill c o n stitu te th e rem a in in g p er cen t of the exam in a tio n . E x a c t w e ig h ts w ill be announced at the tim e of th e exam in ation .

( P L E A S E P O S T T H I S N O T I C E IN A C O N S P I C U O U S P L A C E )

APPENDIX B

109 APPENDIX B RESOLUTION NO. 693 A RESOLUTION OP THE CITY COUNCIL OP THE CITY OP SAN GABRIEL CREATING THE OFFICE OP ADMINISTRATIVE OPPICER OF SAID CITY, FIXING HIS COMPENSATION AND DUTIES. The City Council of the City of San Gabriel does resolve as follows: SECTION 1# Hie Office of Administrative Officer is here­ by created for the City of San Gabriel. SECTION 2. The Administrative Officer shall be the head of all departments of this city and be responsible for their efficient administration* SECTION 3* The Administrative officer shall be appointed by the City Council and he shall hold office at its pleasure. He shall be paid a salary in the sum of $>________ per month. SECTION ij.. It shall be the duty of the Administrative Officer to see that the laws and ordinances are enforced and that all contracts by and with the city are complied with. To act as purchasing agent for said city. To examine and make reports to the Gity Council in regard to any matter re­ quested by it, and to recommend to the Gity Council such measures as he may deem necessary or expedient. He may attend, as a representative of the City Council, all meetings of any board or commission of the City and may take part in the dis­ cussions, but have no vote. SECTION 5. Carl E. Gruendler is hereby appointed admin­ istrative officer hereunder. He shall assume the duties of said office May 17th, I9I4-3 . I, CARL E. GRUENDLER, City Clerk of the city of San Gabriel do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly passed and adopted by the City Council of said City, at a regular meet­ ing thereof, held in said city on the 11th day of May, I9I4.3 , by the following vote to wit: Ayes: N o e s :• Absent:

Bierkle, French,'Lange, Wheeler and Grieb None None Carl E. Gruendler__________ Signed and approved this City Clerk 11th day of May, 19^3 Albert J. Grieb, Mayor

APPENDIX C

110 APPENDIX C RESOLUTION NO. 3027 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MONTEBELLO, CALIFORNIA, CREATING- THE POSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER FOR SAID CITY, PRESCRIBING THE DUTIES THEREOF AND DEFINING THE POWERS INCIDENT TO SAID POSITION. WHEREAS, it appears that the administrative affairs of the municipal government for which the Gity Council is responsible might be handled more expeditiously and with better results through an officer acting on its behalf whose duty it would be to attend to such administrative affairs between meetings of the City Council, correlate and coordinate various municipal activi­ ties, compile data, prepare reports relating to the affairs of the City government for the information and guidance of the City Council, develop and organize post war programs and generally to act as agent for the City Council, in the discharge of adminis­ trative duties: NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE GITY OF MONTEBELLO DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1*

That there be and there is hereby created in the

unclassified service of the City of Montebello, the position of Administrative Officer who shall serve directly under the super­ vision and control of the Gity Council in a purely administrative capacity and whose powers and duties shall be as follows:

Ill (a)

To execute on behalf of the Gity Council its

administrative supervision and control of such affairs of the city, as may be placed in his charge* (b)

To attend meetings of the Gity Council with the

duty of reporting on or discussing any matter concerning the affairs of the departments, services, or activities under his supervision, upon which in his judgment the City Council should be informed. (c)

To assist the City Council in coordinating the

administrative functions and operations of the various depart­ ments, divisions and services of the city government and on its behalf to carry out the policies, rules and regulations and or­ dinances adopted by it, relating to the administration, of the affairs of such departments, divisions or services* (d)

To cause to be prepared and submitted to him by

each department, division or service of the city government, itemized annual estimates of expenditures required by any of them for capital outlay, salaries, wages and miscellaneous operating costs; to tabulate the same into a preliminary consolidated muni­ cipal budget and submit the same to the City Council before the 15th of June of each year with his recommendations as to any in­ creases, decreases, cancellations, transfers or changes in any of the items included in said preliminary budget, as in his judgment should be made before adoption of the final budget.

112 (e)

As agent for the City Council to supervise the

expenditure of all departments, divisions or services of the city government and to act as purchasing agent for the purchase of all supplies, goods, wares, merchandise, equipment and material which may be required for any of such departments, divisions or services* (f)

To analyze the functions, duties and activities of

the various departments, divisions and services of the city govern­ ment and of all employees thereof and to make such recommendations to the City Gouncil with reference thereto as in his judgment will result, if made effective in the highest degree of efficiency in the over-all operation of the city government* (g)

To develop and organize public improvement projects

and programs, both current and postwar, and to aid and assist the City Council and the various departments in carrying the same through successful conclusion* (h)

To serve as public relations officer of the city

government and to follow through and endeavor to adjust all com­ plaints filed against any employee, department, division or ser­ vices thereof, to the end that every effort be made to satisfy complaining citizens that their city government is being operated in their behalf with the highest degree of efficiency at the lowest possible cost* (i)

To cooperate with all committee organizations whose

aim and purpose it is to advance the spiritual and material in­ terests of the city and its people and to provide them with all

assistance through the city government. (j)

To make and keep up date, an inventory of all

personal property owned by the city and to recommend to the City Council the purchase of new machinery, equipment and supplies whenever in his judgment the same can be obtained at the best advantage, taking into consideration trade-in value of machinery, equipment, etc., in use. (k)

To recommend to the City Council the transfer of

city owned equipment, machinery, furnishings, supplies, materials and furniture from one department to another or the disposal of the same for the benefit of the city whenever in his judgment the transfer or disposal therefore would be advantageous to the city government. (1)

To make studies and surveys of the duties, re­

sponsibilities and work of the personnel in the various depart­ ments, divisions and services of the city government and to re­ commend to the City Council abolition, or consolidation of posi­ tions, or transfers or removal of personnel, whenever in his judgment such action would increase efficiency in the adminis­ tration of the city government. (m)

To receive and open all mail addressed to the City

Council and give immediate attention thereto to the end that all administrative business referred to in said communications and not necessarily requiring Gouncilmanic action, may be disposed of between Council meetings; providing that all actions taken

lllj. pursuant to such communications shall be reported to the City Council at its next regular meeting thereafter* SECTION 2.

The Administrative Officer shall act as the

agent for the City Council in the discharge of its administra­ tive functions but shall not attempt to commit or bind it or any member thereof to any action, plan or program requiring official Councilmanic action, nor is it intended by this resolution to grant authority to, or impose any duty upon saidAdministrative Officer which is vested in or imposed by general law or valid city ordinances in any other City, Commission, Board, Department, Div­ ision, Service, Officer or Employee* SECTION 3*

In the discharge of his duties as Administrative

Officer the person holding such position shall endeavor at all times to exercise the highest degree of tact, patience and courtesy in his contacts with the public and with all City Commissions, Boards, Departments, and Employees and shall use his best efforts to establish and maintain a harmonious relationship between all personnel employed in the government of the City of Montebello to the end that highest possible standards of public service be con­ tinuously maintained. SECTION Ij.*

The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of

this resolution and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. Adopted and approved this l6th day of April, 19ij.5. (Signed) Milo V. Chapin Mayor of the City of Montebello

ii5 ATTEST: (Signed) Elsie D. Smith City Clerk STATE OP CALIFORNIA COUNTY OP LOS ANGELES CITY OP MONTEBELLO

( ( SS (

I, Elsie D. Smith, City Clerk of the City of Montebello, do hereby certify that the above resolution was duly adopted by the City Council and signed by the Mayor of said city at a regular meeting of the Council held on the l6th day of April, 19^4-5 by the following vote to-wit: AYES:

GOUNOILMEN Allen, Andrews, Earl, Heacook & Chapin

NOES:

GOUNOILMEN N one_____________________________________

ABSENT: COUNCILMEN None

(Signed) Elsie D» Smith City Clerk

APPESBIX D

116 APPENDIX D Redlands Daily Pacts May 12, 19^9 REDLANDS GOVERNMENT EVOLVES TO MANAGER-CITY COUNCIL TYPE By terms of Ordinance No, 699, which appears as a legal notice today on page 9 9 Redlands will begin on June Ij. to operate formally under the manager-city council form of government. This is a significant point in the evolution of our municipality and we suggest that you take the time to read and consider the new ordinance* For many years Redlands operated under a modified com­ mission plan. The five councilmen, at their initial meeting after the election would decide which of them would be mayor and specify what city departments would be allocated to specific council members. They regarded themselves as commissioners hav­ ing considerable administrative authority and would consult with department heads about hiring and firing and policy-making ques­ tions, and would even make up the departmental budgets. Simul­ taneously the city engineer carried many administrative functions commonly vested in other municipalities in the city manager. In recent years Redlands participated in the most signifi­ cant development of the current period in California city govern­ ment— the trend toward the centralization of administrative man­ agement in one person. This has come about from a combination of causes. Ideas about government, and what changes should be made, vary from time to time with the turnover in the personnel of the council and in city workers. In recent years the council has come to recognize the serious defect of the old set-up which was the diffusion of administrative responsibility among five com­ missioners and a city engineer. The absence of a single, unify­ ing executive weakened the coordination of city activities, caused some duplication of effort, and gave rise to friction between department heads. Also, with the growth of the city, and the shift from a war­ time footing to a peace-time basis, there has been an intensifi­ cation and multiplication of problems confronting the councilmen. These men receive but nominal pay, and must be primarily dedicated to their personal business affairs. Having only a limited por­ tion of their time to devote to city business, they feel compelled

117 to delegate administrative planning and duties to a profession­ al administrator hired by and directly responsible to them. But until 1914-7 the only way to create a city manager form of government here would have been by a vote of the people and conditions favorable to that step had not developed. In 19l|-7 the state legislature passed a law which makes it possible for the council to enact an ordinance establishing the councilmanager form of government, and that is what has now been done. For the details of the ordinance we refer you to the text appearing in this issue for the Facts. You will note that the city council centralizes all admin­ istrative management in one person, that man at the present time being George Coffey. The council is the policy determining body; the manager is the policy executing official. However, council­ men will continue as departmental commissioners to the extent of assisting department heads in lfan advisory capacity, on any phase of policy or public relations11. This will allow individ­ ual councilmen who are disposed to take an intimate interest in departmental affairs to follow their bent. Yet, neither the mayor (Maurice Clapp is the incumbent), who is appointed by the council from among its own members, nor the council is permitted to interfere with the administrative functions of the manager. The council is to deal with the ad­ ministration only through Mr. Coffey, and not directly with his subordinates. The city manager is given full authority, commensurate with his broad responsibilities. He is, by ordinance, the top man--”the Boss,” over all city employees except elected officials. Obviously, this puts him on the spot and he is liable to be the object of political attack. No man can please everyoi© in a city and some dissatisfaction is to be expected. The ordinance meets this situation by putting a slow burn­ ing fuse on the process of ousting the manager. Under no condi­ tion can he be removed in less than 30 days, and a 90 day cooling off period is required after an election. This is a wise safe­ guard as anyone will recognize who has followed the affairs of other municipalities, notably our neighbor, Colton. In the main, the new ordinance formalizes the setup of the city government as it has evolved by common consent in response to changing conditions and personalities. For the present we expect Ordinance No. 899 to cause no fireworks and little visible evidence of change*

118 Over the long haul the council-city manager system will succeed to the extent that it can be modified to meet the changing conditions on the times and personalities of city government.

APPENDIX E

119 Return to: Harry A. Marlow 529 W. Fairview Blvd., Inglewood, California APPENDIX E Questionnaire Completed By Municipal Administrative Officer THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ,. The Office: 1.

What means were used to advertise the position opening? Printed announcements Announcements in Western City, Public Management or other journals Personal letters to prospects Newspaper publicity Other means (Please list)

2.

How did you hear of the opening?

3.

Was an oral interview held in the city?Underline

-

yes

no

Who sat on your oral board? (I.e., councilmen only» citizens, professional administrators, etc.) 5.

Were men from outside the city used asexaminers?

6,

What was the council vote approving your appointment? Unanimous

7*

What is your yearly salary?

8*

If this is subject to upward revision,what steps -- over how long?

9*

How long a vacation do you have?

10.

How long a sick leave do you have?

Yes

no

other

are the pay

120 Administrative Officer questionnaire - page 2 11.

Do you have an expense account covering any of the following? Mileage (own auto for official business) Entertainment for official visitors? Expenses to attend professional meetings? Membership in professional organizations? ; Other expenses covered? Please list.

yes yes yes yes

no no no no

12.

Are you provided with a city owned auto for city business? yes n o ,

13•

Are you required to have a surety bond?

ll}.*

For what amount?

15.

What is the provision for continuing administrative super­ vision in your absence from the city?

16 .

What is the total number of non-elective officials and em­ ployees in your city?

17*

What departments are exempt from your supervision?

18.

What is the population of your city?

19*

What utilities are under your supervision?

20.

Who prepares the agenda for the Council meetings?

21.

What departments are you the head of?

yes

no

'Ehe Administration Officer, personally: 1.

Experience. A.

What were the last two positions held prior to your present appointment? Dates; from (year) Employer: Title: Place: Duties:

to

121 Administrative Officer questionnaire - page 3 Dates: from (year)

to

Employer: Title: P^aGe: Duties: B. When did you first enter municipal service? C. What elective governmental position have you held? B. Date appointed administrative officer? E. Date of Birth? 2.

Education: A.

B.

Circle last year completed: 1 2 3 i|. 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 College: 1 2 3 if Graduate of other specialized study: 1 2 3 IjMajor field:

12

Undergraduate: Graduate: Special study:

C. 3*

Certificates or degrees held:

Residence: A.

Were you

an !lout of town11 resident when appointed?

yes

no

B.

Were you

an f,out of state11 resident when appointed?

yes

no

C. If you were not a resident of the city when appointed, had you ever been a resident in the past? yes if.

no

Professional Organizations: A. Are you a member (or associate) of the International City Managers1 Association? yes no B. Have you taken or are you now taking the ICMA Training Course in Municipal Administration? Have taken. , Taking. Ho

122 Administrative Officer questionnaire - page I4. C. What other professional organizations do you belong to? (Engineering, purchasing, etc.) D. To what civic and service organizations do you belong? (Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, etc.) E. Bo you often speak before public gatherings?

yes

no

APPENDIX P

123 APPENDIX F SCHEDULE OP QUESTIONS USED IN INTERVIEWING’THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER. What led to the establishment of an administrative officer in your city? What do you feel of the comparableness of your office to that of a city manager? Have there been any changes or additions to the original ordinance setting up your office? Was there any perceptable change in the organization of the city government made after you came into your position? Have you any direct appointing power? Council relations. a.

Do you find the councilmen cooperative in issuing their ideas to subordinates through you?

b.

What do you find is the most difficult area in your relations with the council?

c.

What reports are required of the administrative officer by the council?

Commission relations. a.

Are you a member of any commissions?

In what capacity?

b.

Do you have anything to say about the composition of commissions?

Departmental relations. a.

To what extent does the department choose his own employees?

b.

Must approval of all dismissals be made by his council?

c.

Have you set a schedule of meetings with your depart­ ment heads?

d.

How have the department heads cooperated with you?

X2J+ 9«

What positions do you have in your immediate office?

10.

What are some of the changes you have effected in the city admini stra tion ?

11.

What were, or are, some of the arguments put up against your office?

12.

What do you think is the future of the administrative officer plan?

VJfoivefflekv

Southern California