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Taking A Look Back At City Future
Last updated Saturday, October 27, 2007 9:49 PM CDT in Columns
By Bob Caudle
THE MORNING NEWS
Well CityFuture II for the city of Springdale is over and most of the city is still standing, so it can be considered a limited success.
My idea of what to do with the downtown Emma Avenue area, "Aww, why don't ya just stick another high school on it," appears to have been discarded.
CityFuture II, which in the course of natural human events and the evolution of Western Civilization, followed CityFuture I, were both gatherings of Springdale civic, business and government leaders to discuss the fate of the city.
They decided the fate of the city is still its future. (I just made that up, but it sounds like one of those warm and fuzzy, back-patting, feel-good mottos that Chambers of Commerce come up with.)
CityFuture I was held in 2002 and -- unlike some other think tanks -- many of the ideas from that first one didn't tank.
The impetus for the street program (the group assumes no responsibility for the cost overruns), for building the ballpark and attracting a minor league baseball team, and changing bulky items waste pickup from annually to making a phone call and having items picked up.
Of all those, the best -- and least expensive -- thing was the bulky waste items.
Having people put out a year's worth of trash curbside made the city look even trashier than usual.
Plus, it was often difficult to tell what was trash, or if Bubba just liked to wait for the postman while sitting in his curbside recliner.
One of the more interesting ideas to come out of this year's CityFuture was a trial balloon for Springdale to change from a mayor-council form of government to a city manager form of government.
To some people, it was quite a shock to hear that Springdale was run by any type of government at all -- your tax dollars at rest.
Here's the difference between the two types of government in a nutshell.
In a mayor-council, Springdale's current form of city government, voters elect a mayor every four years as the chief executive officer of the city.
In a city manager type of government, the city council hires a person to act as chief executive officer. The city manager form of government still has an elected mayor, but the mayor serves as the chief parliamentarian at council meetings and mostly shows up for ribbon cuttings and other such ceremonies representing the city.
Now that you mention it ...
Patsy Christie, director of Planning and Community Development, is running the street bond program and ballpark project, and Wyman Morgan, director of Finance and Administration, pretty much handles the day-to-day operation of the city.
Heck, Springdale already has a city manager type of government, it's just being managed by everyone but the mayor. You have a better chance of finding an honest man in Madison County on Father's Day than finding the mayor in City Hall after 1 p.m.
On the other hand, think how much better off the country would be if President Bush adhered to the Springdale mayor's schedule.
On a serious-as-I'm-going-to-get note, the city manager form of government works well in some cities and not so well in other cities.
It requires a city council that is strong, focused and knows the needs of the city.
Exactly the reasons the city manager form of government would cause nothing but problems in Springdale with the current crop of councilmen and councilwoman.
You could ask Springdale's council which direction is north and get eight different answers -- all wrong.
So can you imagine this bunch trying to agree on who to hire for a city manager, much less not trying to fire the poor sap anytime something didn't go that particular councilman's way?
The truth is, the idea of a city manager form of government was proposed by some of Springdale's businessmen, afraid of who they're going to get for mayor in the next election. That's the pure and simple explanation.
Letting Springdale voters choose the chief executive officer for the city is head and shoulders above letting the city council vote on a hired chief executive officer.
Because with this council, the way nobody wants to take the lead or make a tough decision, the city manager position might be decided by drawing straws, flipping coins or the winner of rock, paper, scissors.
About this columnist
Bob Caudle is a senior reporter with The Morning News. He writes a humorous commentary on local, state and national issues every Sunday. He is an equal opportunity insulter.
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