Charter panel still pondering city manager concept

Despite a tight timetable and the necessity of rewriting the city charter from top to bottom to make it happen, a panel charged with recommending changes to the city government’s blueprint is still giving serious consideration to a proposal to create a city manager position to replace the mayor as Bristol’s top administrator.
“This is not a casual change,” said City Attorney Edward Krawiecki, Jr. “It would require a rewrite of the entire charter” before April.
The chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, Tim Furey, is pushing the seven-member panel to pursue the idea.
“The time is ripe for it,” he said.
But it remains unclear whether a majority of the commission is ready to plunge forward with a proposal that may prove too big to get done in time and that may not have the required backing of the City Council.
Supporters say a manager would bring greater efficiency, more continuity, better long-term planning and more experience to government oversight.
"With a manager, you're entitled to expect professionalism all the way through, year in and year out," said Southington Town Manager John Weichsel, who’s held his appointed post for 42 years.
With elected mayors at the helm, he said, voters could install “drunken Uncle Eddie” to run the city.
Members of the charter panel said the change is worth exploring, but some aren’t sure they can finish before the April deadline imposed by the City Council.
“I don’t think we’ve got the time to devote to this,” said Dick Prindle, a panel member who has served on earlier charter commissions.
Al Marko, another member of the commission, said that adding a city manager creates a need to deal with many other issues, from what to do with the mayor’s role to whether to keep the police and fire boards.
The manager “is the tip of the iceberg,” said Gail Hartmann, a former Board of Finance member who serves on the charter commission. The change envisioned is “just enormous,” she said.
Harley Graham said it would be “a huge change” and a daunting task.
But Krawiecki said his office is capable of pulling it off if the charter commission decides to pursue it in earnest “instantaneously.”
“This is not a casual change,” Krawiecki said. “If you’re ready to do it, you need to do it,” he told the panel recently.
“It’s certainly a task that can be accomplished,” said Maria Pirro, who serves on the panel.
In addition to the manager idea, the panel is considering a number of other revisions to the charter, including a return to an appointed Board of Education, whether to keep an elected city treasurer and the possible expansion of the size of the City Council.
The charter commission’s recommendations are slated to reach the council in April. Councilors can accept them, reject them or ask the panel to revise them. Any proposals the council backs would go on the November general election ballot because voters get the last word on any changes to the charter.

*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com