Let's Give It Another Go!

It is time to reconsider the question whether our fair city could benefit by transforming itself to a "council-manager form of government."

In a nutshell, the city-- meaning the elected mayor and council-- search for and hire a professional experienced public administrator to manage the day-to-day operations of the city.

The mayor and council act like our school board. They set the goals and objectives and review the performance of the professional manager (or in the case of the school district-- the superintendent).

According to Robert J. O’Neill, Jr., Executive Director International City/County Management Association, “More than half of the 40 cities that received a triple-A bond rating as of December 2003 from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, for example, operate under the council-manager form. It is also the structure used by six of the 10 communities recognized in 2004 by the National Civic League with the coveted All-America City Award, which encourages civic excellence by honoring those communities in which “citizens, government, business, and nonprofit organizations demonstrate successful resolution of critical community issues.”

“Recently the Center for Digital Government and the National League of Cities surveyed local governments and ranked the top 10 cities in four population categories for making the best use of technology to improve operations and better serve their constituents. Eighty-three percent of the highest ranked cities use the council-manager form.”

Here is a list of Illinois communities who have adopted this form of government.
Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bloomington, Brookfield, Carbondale, Carpentersville Centralia, Champaign, Charleston, Clarendon Hills, Collinsville, Crystal Lake, Decatur, Deerfield, DeKalb, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Evanston, Galesburg, Glencoe, Glenview, Greenville, Highland, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Joliet, Kenilworth, Kewanee, LaGrange, LaGrange Park, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Lombard, Lyons, Maywood, Mount Prospect, Mt. Vernon, Naperville, Niles, Normal, Northbrook, Northfield, Northlake, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Olney, Orland Park, Palatine, Paris, Park Forest, Park Ridge, Peoria, Princeton, Riverside, Rochelle, Rock Island, Rolling Meadows, Salem, Savanna, Skokie, Sterling, Streator, Sycamore, Villa Park, Westchester, Western Springs, Wheaton, Wheeling, Wilmette, Winnetka, Wood Dale, Wood River, & Woodstock.

Each of these municipalities is managed by a professionally trained and experienced city manager. In many cities, the manager reports to an elected mayor and/or city council.

The mayor and city council set policy, plan for the future, and provide strategic direction for the professional manager. The manager takes care of the day-to-day operations and insures that the strategic directives set by the mayor and/or council are carried out.

Many of the municipalities on this list are among the most vibrant and successful in our state, and some are nationally recognized for their ability to provide their citizens with an exemplary quality of life.

As municipal governance becomes ever more complex and challenging, the need for experienced professional management is evident and necessary. Isn’t it time for Freeport to look to the future?

Let's give this professional form of government a go in Freeport. After all our city has gone through in the past several years, what do we have to loose?