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No Easy Sell For Charter Review
Well, it's all down to the wire - sort of.
The future of Pensacola's government is now in the hands of its City Council, which must now decide what changes they want to make to the Charter Review Commission's (CRC) final report released last month before putting it on the ballot for citizen approval.
Council opted out of making any decision to approve a charter document at its July 20 meeting and instead scheduled a workshop to further discuss the matter on Aug. 12.
One of the biggest concerns expressed by some members, including Mayor Mike Wiggins, is that the importance of the process has fallen under the public radar.
In a recent memo from Mayor Mike Wiggins to City Manager Al Coby regarding the workshop, Wiggins says the commission's proposal is "quite sweeping in nature and deserves to have the broadest airing prior to Council taking action."
The document presented is indeed a big change for the city - recommending a switch from the current managerial-style structure to an executive-powered mayor and the elimination of the at-large Council seats.
But is it the right move?
Those in favor of the switch say it brings a much-needed update to the 1939 charter and allows for growth and more accountability in the government body.
Others like Former City Attorney Don Caton believe a drastic change would only create more headaches.
Caton says the city is too small to be run by a strong mayor and feels it only opens the door to problems with corruption.
"If you want to do a strong mayor, you need to have a population of a couple hundred thousand people," he says. "You get tempted when you're the one person in charge of things. You need the checks and balances."
Caton, who worked for the city for 40 years, says having a city manager is imperative for day-to-day operations.
"The council manager form is better for council incorporation," he says. "They are someone who is trained in the government form."
CRC Chairman Crystal Spencer says this is not true.
She believes a strong mayor would not only be held accountable for his actions through the election process, but would open the door for opportunities and provide accountability that the city hasn't had with the current government form.
"I think that the argument that we can't find a good person in 56,000 (people) to be mayor is ludicrous," she says. "Joe Riley (Charleston, S.C. mayor) said in a prior speech he wouldn't have been able to have the implementation or the vision to move forward under a ceremonial power."
THE FLORIDIAN MAYOR TONE
If Pensacola does decide to switch to a mayor council form of government, it would be a pioneer in Florida.
According to Florida League of Voters Director of Membership Development Lynn Tipton, there is only one city in the state that has a population between 50,000-70,000 people that does not have a council manager charter - and it still has aspects of a managerial government.
"The one that is council mayor is Bradenton, which is a council strong mayor/weak mixture," she says. "You have to get to 85,000 before you'll find another one that is not council manager."
Between the populations of 50,000 and 104,000 there is one pure strong form of government and one hybrid.
Out of 410 city charters in the state only 35 have strong mayors.
But Spencer says it should not be looked at from what other state cities have done.
She says there are plenty of other medium-sized cities such as Charleston and Mobile that have taken the gamble and prospered.
"I know there are plenty of cities similar in size (that have a strong mayor). "The argument that we are not big enough is not correct."
A POLARIZATION DEBATE
The other big issue that has been at the forefront of the charter debate is the suggestion to remove the current at-large council seats.
CRC voted to change it after hearing community leaders and residents at its meetings expressing their desire to remove the three seats to create a more compact council.
But removing the seats does create a sticky situation in terms of district alignment - particularly with race.
Those in opposition to the move say removing the seats would give the black community an unfair representation on council.
Council by law is required to represent the African-American community with three members, which reflects the approximate 30 percent population for the city. If Council were to remove the at-large seats, it would then be 42 percent.
"If you cut those out you cut out those perspectives," says Caton. "You have also messed up the system by having three black districts out of seven. It's fine from a black perspective, but might not be from a white perspective."
Spencer says the issue would likely be addressed in 2010 when a new population consensus will be released.
"If necessary the district lines can be redrawn," she says. "It does not seem to be an issue that cannot be overcome."
WHAT IT TAKES
No matter what is ultimately decided on for the future of Pensacola's charter government, one thing is certain: it will require great leadership to make it prosper.
"I do respect the people that believe that with challenges we need a strong mayor council," says former Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency Director David Bailey. "But without a competent staff that is willing to carry out the will of the Council and informed elected officials or citizens that care enough to come to meetings you really aren't going to get anything you don't already have."
Bailey, who now manages the town of Seaside (near Destin), says cities such as Austin, Texas have flourished without having to make any changes to the government body.
"I happen to have a brother who was chief of staff in Austin to the mayor," he says. "They have a council mayor form of government, but he's never perceived their form of government as something that needed to be changed. It's never been much of an option."
