Contributor Opinion by Max van Balgooy: Is Rockville's Mayor the Chief Executive?
Jun 18, 2010 7:00 - 8 Comments
>Our friend Max van Balgooy posted the following piece to his blog and agreed for us to run it as a contributor opinion piece here at Rockville Central:
At Mayor and Council meeting of June 7, 2010, the Gazette claimed that Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio stated she was “the city leader and de facto chief executive” of the City of Rockville. I didn’t hear that on the broadcast, but confusion over the roles of board and staff isn’t unusual. I’ve served on boards, for boards, and with boards and one of the most common areas of friction and frustration is the role of the board and staff in an organization. It’s made even more confusing because of the various interchangeable titles used by those at the top (e.g., president, chair, chief executive, mayor). Rockville’s Mayor was initially called a President.
Firstly, every organization is different so it’s crucial to understand the rules under which they operate. For the City of Rockville, it’s the City Charter and the City Code. You can’t assume that what happens in New York or Baltimore or Kensington is the same as Rockville. In Rockville, the primary powers of the Council are to pass and enforce ordinances; appoint the City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney; and adopt a budget, levy taxes, and borrow money. The primary powers of the City Manager are to hire staff; prepare and manage the budget; purchase equipment and supplies; and lead the administrative branch of the City. Indeed, Chapter 2, Article 2 of the City Code states that, “The City Manager shall be the executive officer and head of the administrative branch of the City.”
Secondly, don’t make assumptions about titles. Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II share the same titles and names, but boy, they have very different powers. QE I could raise an army and declare war on Spain. QE II must leave that decision to Parliament. Likewise, the Mayor of New York and the Mayor of Rockville have vastly different powers and responsibilities. Although the Mayor is elected separately in Rockville, he or she has exactly the same powers as other members of Council. The only distinctions provided by law is that the Mayor presides over the Council meeting, receives more pay than the Council, and appoints board and commission members—that’s it. Over the years, the City has provided a reserved parking spot, an office, and other benefits for the Mayor, but they’re optional. The Rockville Mayor doesn’t have his or her own budget, can’t hire and fire staff, can’t purchase equipment and supplies, and can’t veto Council decisions.
So, Rockville’s Mayor is not the chief executive and she’s not the city leader. The current Charter identifies every member of Council as a city leader and that the City Manager is the chief executive.
Max van Balgooy
This is a Contributor Opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such pieces for consideration — the more voices the better. Simply send them to rockvillecentral@gmail.com. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!
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i see no reason why, after all her years on the council, working directly with rockville’s various mayors, that our current mayor would be confused about what it means to be mayor.it’s a ceremonial title at best. anything beyond that is a power grab. if the city’s voters were to choose to change our form of government to an elected CEO that would be a different story. we haven’t done that and i doubt we ever will.
I don’t believe it was a power grab. I believe the Mayor had good intentions. The Mayor is human and I believe needs to temper her ego a little. I say that in the best possible way, meaning no disrespect. We all have ego.
Nice summary. Thank you Max and RC.
Critics of the last mayor accused her of being imperious, but I never got the impression that she believed herself to be highly superior to the councilmembers. During the last election Ms. Marcuccio projected the persona of a humble, modest public servant, so it is a bit surprising to me to see her reveal an autocratic attitude toward the council, whom she apparently perceives as less her peers and more a combination Greek chorus and cheerleading squad.
Max, Thanks for your excellent piece, mixing some historical perspective with deft observations on Rockville’s form of government.A few words of clarification:While the Mayor indeed did not explicitly claim her executive role during the meeting you cite, my understanding is that she spoke to the Gazette reporter immediately following the meeting and that is when the words were uttered. Of course, if the Mayor disagrees with the characterization, it would be simple enough for her to set the record straight by either asserting that she never spoke those words or stating that she simply misspoke, and completely understands that she is indeed not the “de facto executive.” Given the fuss that is being made over this Gazette report, the Mayor could have, for example, opened her State of the City Address with a clarification. Having, to date, not denied the characterization; she only lends credence to the notion that the Gazette report portrayed her statement and belief accurately.Meanwhile, the Mayor does, on occasion, act like she thinks that she is the executive, as for example, when she unilaterally planned the above-mentioned State of the City Address, without bringing it first to the entire Council at a Mayor and Council meeting. The net result was an event where, at the request of Councilmember Pierzchala, the Mayor had to begin her remarks with a disclaimer that she was indeed not speaking for the Council but only for herself.One other clarification:While the Mayor indeed makes appointments, those appointments, according to City Code, are “subject to confirmation by the Council.” So, even in this one very limited power, the framers of the Code made sure to involve the full Council.
Let’s see some team work improvement by the City Council and give the Mayor some leverage. There are more important issues that need to be solved. The bickering is unnecessary. The problem is with personalities and not only the misinterpretation of the City Charter. Reading these comments shows that a few people don’t like the Mayor. I pray that the City Council stays open to suggestions and that they find options where there is a win-win on both sides. In my understanding the Mayor is the Leader of the Council and City. That position should be respected. One only needs to listen to all the City Council meetings to see that there is a communication gap and that the mayor is not always satisfied with the information provided the council. The relationships with the City staff and our Mayor and Councils might have improved from the last Council, but there is still concern. There is a lot of discussion, but substance is missing. There is a lack of hard decisions.Titles should not be the focus rather how management works and how we citizens believe we are represented. There should be respect for the position people hold and cooperation is necessary by all parties in order to produce satisfactory accomplishment. Not all rules and regulations are always followed by people. How far one stretches the authority is another discussion.One can cite laws, policies and procedures, but how one interprets them and how the administration implements them is a different matter. Many of us can site laws which are not being enforced. Life is not perfect.I voted for a Council who is to oversee our City Manager and his management of the city’s operations and if they are not satisfied with the performance, there needs to be discussion and improvement. The City Manager serves at the pleasure of the Mayor and Council, and as such, each councilmember has the right to be heard on anything relative to his performance and management ability. Yes, it takes at least three votes for the Council to make a decision. It also requires documentation if there are concerns and reason for the dissatisfaction. We heard the Mayor ask for a closed session for the purpose of discussing the city manager’s contract because they are the approving authority for expending city funds. There should be a discussion and because it involves personnel, it should be private. It is an obligation of the Mayor and Council to be fiscally responsible. That is their job.The City Charter is the guiding code for managing our City government. Everything is not clearly written or understood. However, having good communication to handle the misunderstandings is most important.
Max, thanks for that!
Brigitta: Here is something clear for you.The City of Rockville operates under a weak mayor/strong city manager system.The mayor is the first among equals.City Council meetings are an excellent place for the councilmembers to explain what they don’t like about the information they are provided by the staff. They can elaborate at length. The can also supplement their remarks by written records such as memos for the record. Mere expressions of dissatisfaction that do not include statements based on logic, facts, or data are not helpful and–guess what–cause miscommunication.I happen to agree with the Mayor about some things. (Not the city manager thing; but, the notion that the golf course should be replaced by some 20th-century outdated sports arena/retail concept is the silliest thing going in Rockville these days). But if I did not have access to information independent of the Mayor about those topics of which we are of like mind, and had to rely solely upon her remarks, I would not find her remarks on those topics persuasive.