Jefferson City voters will go to the polls in less than three weeks to choose a new mayor, and whoever gets the job will need to work with the city administrator to get things done.
However, what exactly is the role of the city administrator, and how does the mayor affect that role?
The News Tribune spoke with current City Administrator Steve Crowell, as well as former city administrators Nathan Nickolaus and Rich Mays, to discuss the role as they saw it while in the position. Attempts to contact former City Administrator Steve Rasmussen were unsuccessful.
Crowell has been the city administrator in Jefferson City for one year. Before coming to the area, he was the city manager in St. Marys, Georgia, and has held similar positions in David City, Nebraska; La Vista, Nebraska; Commerce City, Colorado; Greenwood Village, Colorado; and North Port, Florida.
Nickolaus was promoted from city attorney to interim city administrator in May 2011, after Rasmussen was fired. In December 2011, the City Council made Nickolaus' promotion permanent, but then fired him in September 2013. Nickolaus also performed the interim city administrator job after Mays left the city in 2005, before Rasmussen was hired in early 2006. He now serves as general counsel to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
Mays served as city administrator from 1995 to 2005, when he left to take a city manager position in Cannon Beach, Oregon. He retired from that position in July.
The City Charter establishes a city administrator, nominated and appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of a majority of the City Council. The charter establishes a city administrator is responsible "to the mayor and the council for the administration of all city affairs placed in his charge ... shall coordinate and generally supervise the operation of all departments, both line and staff."
The charter also states the city administrator "shall make recommendations of appointment and removal of department heads and division supervisors for the approval of the mayor and council," as well as appoint and remove all other subordinate employees of the city and "submit a recommended annual budget and five-year capital improvements program to the mayor."
The role of the city administrator
Crowell said the role of the city administrator depends on what is laid out by a city's charter. In Jefferson City, he said it is to manage the day-to-day operations of the city and serve the mayor and City Council. It also entails implementing policies enacted by the mayor and council, Crowell said, specifying he and staff are not to make policy themselves.
With staff, Crowell said his job is to ensure policies are being implemented correctly and assisting them with professional training.
"I view my job as helping staff get the implementation done of what the council says," Crowell said.
He added a large part of his role with residents is really to listen and make sure services are being provided in the best way.
"I try to listen, but not to the point where I supplant whatever the mayor and council do," Crowell said. "From a staff point of view, I think we've got an obligation to make sure we're being efficient and the services are effective."
Crowell said his role also is to get residents engaged and educate them on what the city is doing and, more importantly, why those things are being done.
Nickolaus said the charter establishes three different parts of government - the council, the mayor and the city administrator - and is designed so no one group has all the power.
"It's designed so that all three of those groups have to work together to get anything done," Nickolaus said.
The city administrator, he said, is the head of the staff and, often, the voice of the staff, but at the same time also operates as the conduit from the mayor and council to the staff.
When it comes to the residents, Nickolaus said he saw himself as an ombudsman, someone who could listen to a problem and connect a person to the right department or staff member to help find a solution.
Nickolaus said people tend to mistrust the position because it's not an elected position, but that allows the administrator to stay out of the political side and watch out for the city as a whole.
Mays said the city administrator is responsible for carrying out the policy set by the mayor and council, as well as managing the staff. The city administrator, he said, supervises staff and manages day-to-day operations.
With residents, Mays said it can be a blurred situation, because often residents contact council members or the mayor, who then contact staff about the issue.
City administrator vs. city manager
Crowell said the difference between a city administrator and a city manager is that a manager has more control and authority over city staff, including department directors.
"Here, the mayor and City Council approve department directors, and everything below that is (up to) the city administrator," Crowell said.
Crowell said he couldn't say whether one form was better than another for Jefferson City, but that it depends on the person in the position.
"I do think professional management is a benefit in whatever form it occurs," Crowell said. "Every city is different."
Nickolaus said the real difference between a city manager form of government and a city administrator is the role of the mayor. In a city manager form, he said, the mayor's role would be clearly defined as more of a symbolic position, something he said is pretty much the case already.
"You change the role of the mayor to what the mayor is. The mayor becomes largely a figurehead," Nickolaus said. "And the city manager is a little freer to run the operations of the city. I'm a big believer in that the people who are setting the policy need to stay out of the details of how things actually get done, and the city manager really provides that separation."
Because of that, Nickolaus said he believe Jefferson City would be better served by a city manager rather than a city administrator.
"We have a hybrid system that is not as good as a true city manager system," Nickolaus said.
Mays said he is a big believer in the city manager form of government, but "the differences are overrated." The main difference between the two, he said, is that a city manager can appoint department directors without approval from the council or mayor.
However, when it comes to Jefferson City, Mays sees no need for the change.
"I think the city administrator form of government in Jefferson City, at least in my experience, worked quite well," Mays said.
The mayor/city administrator relationship
Crowell said the personality of the mayor has some impact on the city administrator, pointing to the budget as a major example. The mayor prepares and presents a draft budget to the City Council, which is often based on the city administrator's draft budget. Often, changes by the mayor reflect his or her priorities.
Crowell said the city administrator and the mayor work closely on administration issues, while the City Council is more focused on policy.
Nickolaus said the personality of the mayor has a huge effect on the role of the city administrator, but it's also affected by how the mayor sees the city administrator's role.
"If the mayor really sees the city administrator as being a partner, then between the two of you, you can get a lot of stuff done," Nickolaus said. "But if the mayor sees you more as a subordinate, it's sometimes difficult to get things done because your duties as city administrator can interfere with what the mayor may want to do."
Mays said there is no way to overrate the influence of the mayor's personality on the role of city administrator.
"It's just paramount," Mays said. "I was blessed with working for three great mayors."
In his 28-year career, Mays said he has worked under nine different mayors and the best three were the ones he worked under in Jefferson City - Duane Schreimann, Tom Rackers and John Landwehr.
Mays said the mayor is the head of the city and has a key role in hiring and firing city administrators.
"The relationship between the mayor and city administrator is absolutely critical, and it's a function of personalities more than anything else," Mays said.
However, the city administrator also has to manage the expectations of 10 council members; and, when added to the expectations of the mayor, staff and residents, it can create "a tricky situation."
"There's like a triangle there," Mays said. "It's not easy, but it's made less difficult to the extent that there's a real teamwork approach that is promoted by the mayor and filters through the rest of the City Council."