New form of local government

Dear Editor:

Jim Thorpe Borough Council has adopted a new form of local government, that of Council-Manager leadership. This is a form of local government in accordance with National Civic League guidelines, which pertain to the Model City Charter. Charter involvement addresses "critical issues confronting local government and stress the role of citizen participation in public life. Research for clarification on understanding the structural concepts concerning this form of government proved to be enlightening and are being offered for sharing.

The NCL was originally named National Municipal Leauge when it was founded in 1899. The league, in turn, founded the first Model City Charter. The Charter is revised periodically. Revision is not an automatic process. Updates are undertaken upon the advice of professional experts and only when a judgment is made that changing circumstances cause the need for revision. This is to assure continual reliable guidelines between structure of local government and government performance. NCL has a historic mission of fostering good government at the local level and remains dedicated to this commitment.

Participants in revision projects for the Charter include individuals and representatives from all major organizations having an interest in revising the Charter. Examples include the American Bar Association, American Society for Public Administration, and the Association of State Municipal Leagues, among numerous other organizations.

The Council-Manager form of local government for municipalities is an elected governing body, such as a city council, responsible for the legislative function of the municipality. Responsibilities include establishing policy, passing local ordinances, voting appropriations and developing an overall vision.

The elected legislative body appoints a professional manager to oversee administrative operations, implement its policies and advise it. The manager position in this form of government acts much like a corporate Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Council-Manager government is comparable to a publicly traded corporation who makes major decisions and assumes representative power on behalf of shareholders. This differs from Council-Manager government, where "the elected council appoints a municipal manager, makes major decisions and wields representative power on behalf of all citizens."

NCL, as the nation's oldest political reform organization promoting the cause of good government at the local level, will continue to update the Model City Charter as changing circumstances warrant. This focus on understanding and supporting local government is a significant part of NCL's "overall democracy." NCL recognizes that, in modern America, local government not only provides services to the public, but also contributes the leadership that allows new models of community governance to flourish.

Thank you.

Kathleen Jones

Jim Thorpe