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City manager

A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administrative officer (CAO) in some municipalities.[1]

This article is about city managers in the United States. For county and city managers in the Republic of Ireland, see Chief executive (Irish local government). For County managers in the United States, see County executive.

Supervision of day-to-day operations of all city departments and staff through department heads;

Oversight of all recruitment, dismissal, disciplining and suspensions;

Preparation, monitoring, and execution of the city budget, which includes submitting each year to the council a proposed budget package with options and recommendations for its consideration and possible approval;

Main technical advisor to the council on overall governmental operations;

Public relations, such as meeting with citizens, citizen groups, businesses, and other stakeholders (the presence of a mayor may alter this function somewhat);

Operating the city with a professional understanding of how all city functions operate together to their best effect;

Attends all council meetings, but does not have any voting rights

[5]

Additional duties that may be assigned by the council[4]

[3]

In a technical sense, the term "city manager," in contrast to "chief administrative officer" (CAO), implies more discretion and independent authority that is set forth in a charter or some other body of codified law, as opposed to duties being assigned on a varying basis by a single superior, such as a mayor.[2]


As the top appointed official in the city, the city manager is typically responsible for most if not all of the day-to-day administrative operations of the municipality, in addition to other expectations.[3][4]


Some of the basic roles, responsibilities, and powers of a city manager include:


The responsibilities may vary depending upon charter provisions and other local or state laws, rules, and regulations. In addition, many states, such as the states of New Hampshire and Missouri, have codified in law the minimum functions a local "manager" must perform.[6] The City Manager position focuses on efficiency and providing a certain level of service for the lowest possible cost.[7] The competence of a city manager can be assessed using composite indicators.[8]


Manager members of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) are bound by a rather rigid and strongly enforced code of ethics that was originally established in 1924. Since that time the code had been up-dated/revised on seven occasions, the latest taking place in 1998. The updates have taken into account the evolving duties, responsibilities, and expectations of the profession; however the core dictate of the body of the code--"to integrity; public service; seek no favor; exemplary conduct in both personal and professional matters; respect the role and contributions of elected officials; exercise the independence to do what is right; political neutrality; serve the public equitably and governing body members equally; keep the community informed about local government matters; and support and lead our employ-ees"—have not changed since the first edition.[9]

Local government

Local government in the United States

Council-manager government

Clerk (municipal official)

Kemp, Roger L. Managing America's Cities: A Handbook for Local Government Productivity, McFarland and Co., Jefferson, NC, USA, and London, Eng., UK 1998( 0-7864-0408-6).

ISBN

_______, Model Government Charters: A City, County, Regional, State, and Federal Handbook, McFarland and Co., Jefferson, NC, USA, and London, Eng., UK, 2003 ( 978-0-7864-3154-0)

ISBN

_______, Forms of Local Government: A Handbook on City, County and Regional Options, McFarland and Co., Jefferson, NC, USA, and London, Eng., UK, 2007 ( 978-0-7864-3100-7).

ISBN

Stillman, Richard Joseph. The rise of the city manager: A public professional in local government. (University of New Mexico Press, 1974)

Weinstein, James. "Organized business and the city commission and manager movements." Journal of Southern History (1962): 166–182.

in JSTOR

White, Leonard D. The city manager (1927)

Woodruff, Clinton Rogers (1928). ". American Journal of Sociology. 33 (4): 599–613.

The City-Manager Plan"

ICMA is the professional and educational organization for chief appointed managers, administrators, and assistants in cities, towns, counties, and regional entities throughout the world.

International City/County Management Association

a history on the city manager system of government.

Staunton, Virginia: Birthplace Of City Manager Form Of Government