WOODLAND — Voters here will soon decide whether a city manager, instead of a mayor, should run the city’s day-to-day operations.

“At the end of the day, who do you want managing your money, someone who won a popularity contest but may not have the skills to manage a $14 million budget?” Woodland City Councilman Ben Fredricks, a leading supporter of the measure, asked earlier this week.

Opponents of the idea, however, contend Woodland cannot afford a manager, which is expected to cost at least $100,000 a year, and the city can make do with its current system.

“I personally think I have the training and experience to run a city,” said Woodland Mayor Chuck Blum, 71, who has bachelor’s degrees in public administration from Washington State University and rural county/small city municipal government from Eastern Oregon University.

Supporters of Proposition 1 say a professional manager would more than pay for himself through efficiencies and attracting grants and other revenues to the city. But Blum, who is retired and says he focuses full-time on his duties as mayor, said the city could save money by hiring a grant writer and keeping him at the helm of city administration.

Blum was elected mayor two years ago. He has found himself in ongoing disagreements with the council and was publicly reprimanded by the group in July for allegedly not fulfilling his duties.

Proposition 1, which voters will decide in the Nov. 3 general election, would change Woodland’s “strong mayor/city council” form of government to a “city manager/city council” form of government. It’s a switch many Southwest Washington cities of Woodland’s size — population 5,000 — made some time ago.

If the measure passes, the mayor would step down as the city’s lead administrator. The City Council would hire a city manager, who would be answerable to the council and have responsibility for all administration and budget development, subject to council approval.

The mayor would no longer be elected directly by voters but would be chosen from among council members, as the mayor is now chosen in Longview and Kelso. The mayor would still run council meetings.

Proposition 1 needs a simple majority to pass.

City managers are quite common around Washington, but “tend to be more common in larger cities,” according Michelle Harvey, a spokeswoman for the Association of Washington Cities in Olympia. Of the 169 Washington cities with a population of 5,000 or less, there are 37 with a city manager or city administrator, she said.

There’s no clear population level that prompts cities to transition to city manager forms of government, Harvey said.

“There really isn’t a trend, it’s really based on the community … and what does the community want,” she said.

The City of Battle Ground hired a city manager in 1997, when the north Clark County community had a population of about 7,000.

Like Woodland, Battle Ground had rapid growth when voters changed their form of government, said Battle Ground Mayor Michael Ciraulo, a citizen at the time voters enacted the change.

“I think it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened in the history of Battle Ground,” Ciraulo said. The city’s three managers who have managed the city over the last 12 years have brought “a higher level of supervision and professionalism” to the city.

Battle Ground was on the brink of bankruptcy when it hired its first manager, Ciraulo said. Now, the city has healthy cash reserves.

“It’s a small investment when you look at the big picture,” Ciraulo said.

The City of Ridgefield, on the other hand, has fired two city managers in 10 years. Removing one of those managers proved costly because of a legal battle that ended with the city buying out the manager’s contract, said Gladys Doriot, who served 16 years on Ridgefield City Council and one term as mayor.

“I think that can be a lesson to other cities, that did happen to Ridgefield,” she said. Doriot suggests Woodland have a tough negotiator establish a fair contract with city manager to avoid the mistakes of her city.

“It is so important for any city to have good interview team, good background checks, a good contract and a good attorney sitting by you every step of the way. Those are there big learning lessons we went though.”

Even after the turmoil Ridgefield experienced, Doriot said she favors the city-manager form of government.

“A city is like a business, and it takes a professional person to manage that,” she said.

“I don’t know how you can guarantee who is the right person,” said Ridgefield City Councilman Darren Wertz. But, he said, “for the health of the general city, you’re better off with a technically proficient person driving the boat and maybe having someone else running the social calender.”

Darlene Johnson, owner of a Woodland trucking company, said she’s concerned Woodland can’t afford the position and the change of government would reduce accountability.

With the current system, if citizens disagree with a mayor or councilmember, they can vote the person out of office. Hiring a manger takes away that ability, she said.

“They’re held accountable because they’re voted out. It’s very easy. It costs nothing,” Johnson said at a Woodland Chamber of Commerce forum on Proposition 1 Tuesday.

Johnson’s presentation convinced Woodland resident Kira Dominiak, 26, to vote against hiring a city manager.

“I don’t think the city has the funding for it,” she said.

But Woodland resident Al Swindell, a candidate for Woodland City Council who presented arguments in favor of hiring a city manager, said the measure is “going to be a big payback” for the city. A manager would help the city compete for bigger grants and recruit businesses to Woodland, he said.

“It’s a good investment,” he said. “It’s a sound investment.”

Editor’s note: If Woodland voters agree to hire a city manager, it would join many other cities its size that have chosen to switch to city council/city manager forms of government. Here’s a look at the governance of other small cities in the region.

City                                     Population                       Form of government

Ridgefield                                   4,215                        City council/city manager

Battle Ground                          17,150                         City council/city manager*

La Center                                   2,545                         Mayor/city council

Washougal                              13,870                          Mayor/city council

Chehalis                                     7,185                         City council/city manager

Ocean Shores                            4,860                        City council/city manager

* Battle Ground adopted a city council/city manager form of government in 1997, when its population was about 7,000

Source: Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington

A look at some pros and cons of the city council/city manager form of government

PROS

• Administration of city business is removed from politics.

• The pool of qualified manager candidates is larger because city managers traditionally are paid better than mayors and can be recruited from outside the city.

• Because managers are appointed, they are less likely to have political obligations that affect the quality of their administration.

• With city managers in charge of daily operations, city councils can concentrate better on legislation and broad policy directives. The council gets better cooperation and information because the city manager is their employee. Mayors are not.

• City managers typically bring more training and professional experience to the job than mayors.

• City managers can be removed at any time, limiting the danger of an abuse of authority.

CONS

• A professional manager, often chosen from outside the city, needs time to get to know the community.

• Councils may leave too much decision-making to the manager, who is not directly accountable to voters.

• City managers cost more than mayors.

• Citizens may be confused about who is in charge. Most expect the mayor to respond to their problems. The mayor has no direct control over the delivery of services and administration and can only change policy through the city council.

• The council-manager form is too much like a business corporation which is not suitable for managing community needs.

• A city manager may leave a city when offered a higher salary and greater responsibility in another city.

Graphic: Comparing/contrasting the mayor-council and council-manager forms of government

Click on the image of the comparison table below the main photo at right for an enlarged view of this graphic.