Cliff Block, on the spot

Whether a proposal to create a chief operating office at City Hall will die next month may come down to one man: freshman Democratic city Councilor Cliff Block.
Though a majority of the council opposes the idea of establishing the full-time manager suggested by the Charter Revision Commission, at least one critic of the idea is willing to let the voters have the final word.
That means that Block, whose views are unknown, could be the swing vote to decide if the plan falters immediately or if proponents will get the opportunity to try convince the public that political leaders are wrong.
As it is, only two of the six council members who have taken a stand back the city manager-lite recommendation of the charter panel. Three councilors and Mayor Art Ward oppose it.
However, Ward said Tuesday that even though the proposed chief operating officer "falls short" of the original idea of creating a city manager, he's willing to let voters decide whether to have it or not.
It isn’t clear whether Councilor Frank Nicastro, who opposes the position, would be willing to put it on the ballot, but two councilors said Tuesday they don’t want to see the proposal on the November general election ballot.
That leaves things in a muddle. What is clear is at least four of the seven councilors oppose the idea and perhaps as few as two members support it. Block could not be reached for comment.
However, one of the supporters of the plan, Republican Councilor Ken Cockayne, said that if the council refuses to endorse putting it on the ballot, he’ll try to gather signatures this summer to force a referendum on it anyway.
"We need someone at the helm who understands the finances," said Cockayne.
Cockayne said the mayor's duties are "so overwhelming that he doesn't have time" to supervise department heads to the degree needed to squeeze out savings for taxpayers by streamlining operations.
He said he's sure that a chief operating officer position would easily pay for itself.Cockayne said that even city councilors who oppose the post ought to be willing to put the measure on the ballot so the public can decide what's best.
"Let's keep our own personal views out of this," said Cockayne.
But second-term Democratic city Councilor Kevin McCauley said he's against the proposal to create a pseudo-city manager.Moreover, McCauley said, he won't support bringing the issue to a public vote.
McCauley said he favored looking into the idea of having a city manager, but isn't satisfied with what the Charter Revision Commission found.
He said that the new post would cost a substantial amount for salary and benefits, plus there would surely be a need for administrative support as well.
McCauley said that he believes the city's current structure, which relies on elected officials to set policy and a Board of Finance to keep a lid on spending, is working well.
McCauley said he's also dissatisfied with the educational and experience requirements the charter panel set for the job. He called them "a little too basic to truly get the qualified individual that the proponents would want."
He said that he likes giving the people the power to pick the city's leaders, or get rid of them.
McCauley said that he doesn't want to send the plan to the ballot because many residents wouldn't vote on it so the decision wouldn't reflect the community's true wishes.
"Right now, I'm probably more apt to vote it down" completely rather than agreeing to put it on the ballot, McCauley said.
City Councilor Craig Minor said he has always favored a town manager, "whatever they want to call it."
Minor said, though, "I am concerned that the qualifications" for the proposed chief operating officer "are lower than I think they should be, and I have asked the Charter Revision Commission to consider beefing them up."
"Regardless of how that turns out, however, I feel that the residents of Bristol should get the chance to vote on this." Minor said.
Ward said he believes the proposed full-time position "only created another level of bureaucracy at an increased cost to the taxpayers."
He said that instead of having a chief operating officer handling day-to-day management of city departments -- a plan motivated in part by concerns that mayors are too busy to do the job adequately - Ward said that giving the mayor an aide might be better.
Ward said that having an aide would give the mayor "the flexibility of deciding the manner of addressing the needs, responsibilities and commitments of the mayor's office."
Having a mayoral aide "has been bantered about in every administration since" Mike Werner, Ward said, but it's only been tried during Gerard Couture's two-year term in office starting in 2003.
Couture hired state Rep. Kosta Diamantis, a Democratic ally, to serve as his $25,000-a-year part-time aide, a move that soured some politicians on the concept.
When Bill Stortz took office after Couture, the part-time aide post vanished. It's no longer in the budget.
Though Ward doesn't want to see a chief operating officer at City Hall, he's ready to approve the Charter Revision Commission's recommendation in order to let voters have the final say.
"I don't have any reservation about this concept going forward in order that the populace has the final decision," Ward said.
City Councilors Mike Rimcoski and Frank Nicastro oppose the idea. Rimcoski doesn’t want to see it come to a vote, but Nicastro hasn’t taken a stand on that issue. Block could not be reached for comment.

*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com