Will Professionals Survive Switch
To Patronage Based Appointees?
With few exceptions through the years, St. Charles has enjoyed having professional, experienced and dedicated Department Directors and city employees. We have been able to attract and retain some of the best in their respective fields. That job is getting harder, however, as the deadline for transition to a patronage based system in April of 2007 nears.
That date marks the change to a full-time Mayor and one with the sole power to fire and direct on a day-to-day basis Department Directors without the approval of a City Administrator or the consent of the Council. A new Mayor could literally replace all Department Directors with those they considered political supporters…in other words the very definition of a political patronage system.
There is a distinct line between those who consider themselves professionals in their field and seek advancement with communities where there is a minimum of politics and those who seek appointment based on their political affiliations, fundraising abilities and ongoing political loyalty. Our current system insulates Department Directors by restricting the Mayor from “interfering in the day to day operations” of the City and by restricting individual Councilmembers from giving direction to city employees, except through the City Administrator.
But in April of 2007, the Office of City Administrator ceases to exist and the Mayor assumes most of those powers and duties directly. The unintended consequence of that change, however, is to trade the professional “arms length” administration we have known since the original passage of the Charter for a political patronage system not unlike the City of St. Louis.
When the Police Chief, Fire Chief, Public Works Director, Finance Director, Community Development Director and entire Department of Administration owe their jobs directly to one elected public official, expect to see those individuals under tremendous pressure to raise campaign funds for and do political favors for that one individual. It is a fact of life that this occurs in the City of St. Louis, so we shouldn’t say it simply couldn’t happen here. Once the checks and balances that prevented it are gone, a political patronage system comes into play no matter how it may be camouflaged or disguised from public view.
This past weekend, the City Council had to meet on a Saturday for the first time I can remember. The Special City Council meeting was called by the Mayor to approve the appointment of a new Public Works Director. The need to move quickly on this appointment was due to competition from other communities who were also making offers to the person we ultimately hired.
Based on his outstanding credentials, the City Council unanimously (a rare, but not impossible feat) agreed with the Mayor, City Administrator and acting City Administrator that he was the best for the job. But it was complicated by the applicant’s concerns for what would happen to his position after the change in government. Part of the negotiated contract had to be a six months golden parachute if he were to be terminated by a new Mayor after the April 2007 election.
Hiring Department Directors is not an easy task. I was recently part of the screening process for a new Director of Tourism as liaison to the Tourism Commission. Commission members, the Mayor and I were asked by the City Administrator to be part of the screening and interview process.
We began by reading through 144 resumes. We then short-listed these to twenty-one who were given phone interviews. From there the list was narrowed to seven who were brought in for face-to-face interviews, each lasting about ninety minutes. Altogether I spent about seventeen hours participating in this process. This weekend, our number one choice is being further interviewed by my fellow members of the City Council. I believe we have presented them with an outstanding applicant and hopefully they will agree.
After all that work to build consensus, the thought that the next Mayor could summarily dismiss them without cause, perhaps to try to appoint their second cousin’s brother’s roommate, doesn’t seem like such a good idea. True, the Council will continue to have to approve appointments, but those appointments will be made directly by the Mayor and not the City Administrator. However, it is the power to fire and to direct those Department Directors that will ultimately dictate where their loyalties lie.
Another concern is would such political appointees fairly serve all the residents? If you backed the wrong candidate for Mayor would you get the same treatment from someone who owed his or her job directly to that one individual?
Let me also stress that these observations are in no way a slight to the current administration, but the changes that will occur in April of 2007, will do so irrespective of who is elected Mayor. It is one thing to have faith your particular choice for Mayor wouldn’t fire someone for political reasons and quite another to have faith that no one else elected to the position ever would.
The Council recently agreed to do a review of the City Charter and a sub-committee made up of myself and Councilmembers Joe Koester and Bob Kneemiller, will be drawing up a list of areas to be considered by the full Council and that may need voter attention. High on my list will be looking for ways to retain professionalism in the selection and retention of Department Directors.
Surrounding oneself with a political cronies and yes men, may boost the ego of some future Mayor, but it won’t serve the needs of the people. We’ve known better and deserve better.
