Aug. 2 Daily News editorial

Woodland city government’s growing pains seemed much in evidence with the council’s recent 4-1 vote to publicly censure Mayor Chuck Blum. Councilman Ben Fredericks, who proposed the public reprimand, told Daily News reporter Leila Summers that the censure stems from a long list of frustrations. Fredericks said it seems that if Blum doesn’t support something the council approves, it doesn’t get done or is “excessively” delayed.

Blum blamed a backlog of work at city hall for any delays in implementing council actions. He called the censure “inappropriate, and told Summers that he suspects the reprimand was just a way to garner public support for a proposal on the fall ballot to switch from a strong mayor to a city manager-led government.

We don’t know what, if any, role the upcoming ballot measure may have played in the censure. But it should be noted that the one dissenting vote came from Darwin Rounds, who was very much in favor of asking voters if they wanted to switch to a city manager-led government. Last February, when considering putting the question on the ballot, Rounds said he though “it’s past time” to give the issue a serious look. “I know it’s an expensive thing (hiring a city manager),” he said, “but I think potentiality it could … in fact, be a savings.”

Improving the management of government operations can lead to cost-efficiencies, no question. City business has become complicated even in smaller communities. There are labor negotiations, legal issues and a ton of state and federal red tape to navigate. Nowadays, it’s just cost-efficient to have a full-time professional handling the day-to-day business once cities reach a certain size.

By most standards, Woodland is ready for some professional help. The mayor’s admission of a backlog of work at city hall suggests as much. According to U.S. Census figures, Woodland’s population has increased from 3,780 residents in 2000 to more than 5,000 today. Smaller cities have dumped the strong-mayor system and hired city managers.

Even so, the up-front cost of hiring a professional manager is not insignificant for a smaller city. While a good city manager would more than pay his or her own way through more efficient government, voters could have a hard time looking beyond that salary — particularly in a down economy.

But, as Rounds has said, it is past time that Woodland citizens had this discussion. Woodland remains one of the fastest growing cities in Washington. It’s council and mayor are not exactly clicking along with the city’s business. Part of their contentious relationship may be a matter of personal style. But much of the tension witnessed today predates this mayor and council. That tells us their difficulties also stem from the increasing complexity of city business.

What Woodland citizens must ask themselves is whether this troubled relationship will improve without professional help. The history isn’t encouraging. Indeed, this latest flare up suggests that it will only worsen.