Town Mulls Mayoral Powers

Town council is now considering a way to give the mayor administrative powers by passing an ordinance, not by voter referendum to change the form of government as originally discussed, according to Mayor Bill Collins.

"It's going to come up real fast," Collins said today.

He said it may come before the finance meeting next Monday, or during regular meeting of council July 13. 

With the passing of the ordinance, "we will in effect have a strong-mayor," Collins said. However, it will be transferring adminstrative duties from an adminstrator position to the mayor, and keeping the same form of government.

If it does take effect, the mayor would not see a pay raise until the next general election, even though the adminstrative position is paid 10-times more than the mayoral position. 

The biggest difference would be the council could remove administrative powers from the office versus having to call another voter referendum to again change forms of government, Collins said. 

The town attorney is examining the issue, according to the mayor. 

With the  and a vacant town administrator position, the council has discussed changing the town's form of government from council form to mayor-council form, . 

According to information from The Municipal Association of South Carolina, state municipalities must have one of three forms of government: mayor-council, council and council-manager. To change the form, a voter referendum is needed. 

"There's no magic in any of the three; it's just what the community decides is best for them," association Executive Director Miriam Hair said. "We never recommend one over the other."

The form of government "specifically authorizes who performs the executive and administrative functions," according to the association.

Summerville currently has the council form of government, which is required to have "five, seven or nine members, including a mayor. The mayor presides over meetings (by tradition), performs ceremonial duties, calls special meetings, designates a temporary judge, performs administrative duties (only if authorized by council), and acts and votes as a member of council. The mayor has no additional statutory authority beyond that of other councilmembers," according to Forms and Powers of Municipal Government.

In other words, the mayor does not have administrative powers unless given to him or her by ordinance through the council, or by changing the form of government to a mayor-council form, according to the document.

Size of the municipality doesn't necessarily dictate its form of government, Hair said. For example, while Charleston and North Charleston have a strong-mayor form of government, the state's largest city Columbia has a council-manager form of government, she added.

And from time-to-time, municipalities change, like in the case of Union in 2004. 

"Basically, the council felt that the mayor needed a little more control, needed to be in the office on a day-to-day basis because the last mayors that we had were more or less ceremonial type," Union Mayor Harold E. Thompson said. 

Thompson was elected in 2008, after the change was made. However, he has served on city council since 1998. 

Union does not have a city administrator, and it furnishes all its own utilities to citizens, which create the administrative demand from its mayor, Thompson said. 

"He's more hands-on, policy-making — that type of stuff," he added. 

But while Summerville may have been considering a shift to the mayor-council form of government, it now is considering keeping the same form but shifting administrative powers from town administrator to mayor, Collins said.

"You've got to figure out what's best for the community … They're without an administrator now and, if the mayor has the time to step forward and the skills, that might be good for the town of Summerville but that's for the council to make that decision," Hair said.

If that decision is made, then the council must also designate what powers to give the mayor, she said.

Hair added what usually happens is that the present town administrator duties are equally transferred to the mayor when he or she assumes administration duties. 

According to the Summerville town ordinance, the town administrator — a hired position — currently has the authority to: 

• Supervise preparation of and submit to town council not later than Nov. 1 of each year a balanced, proposed annual budget for the ensuing fiscal year.

• Recommend organizational changes and assist in formulation of internal plans, programs and policies of the town for consideration of the town council.

• Supervise all appointed department heads and their departments as well as any non-department head employees reporting directly to the administrator. Plan, direct, monitor and coordinate activities of all town departments and functions.

• Coordinates the activities of town government with all other agencies, including other town agencies, county, state and federal agencies.

• Appoint, with the approval of the town council, department heads. Suspend department heads, and, with the prior approval of town council, dismiss department heads. Suspend other employees or dismiss employees after consulting with their department head.

• Administer the annual budget after adoption by the town council. Administer the town personnel and purchasing policies. Reviews and approves policies and procedures for the town financial operations, investments, debt service and for the administrative functions and operational activities of the town, including police, fire, street, planning, stormwater, parks and recreation, vehicle maintenance and other functions of the town.

• With the assistance of the finance director, monitor the financial condition of the town, estimate present and future financial needs, and report regularly to the town council on the financial condition and needs of the town.

• Authorize changes in departmental budget line items, provided that the overall departmental appropriation does not change.

• Review all legal matters affecting the town and serve as the primary point of contact with the town attorney.

• Implement the policies and directives of the town council. Attend all council meetings unless excused by the mayor or unless out of town on town business or too ill to attend such meeting.

• Delegate to other employees under the administrator's supervision the authority to exercise specific official duties and responsibilities as may be appropriate. With the approval of the mayor, the administrator may also designate a qualified employee of the town to act during the administrator's absence. In the absence of the administrator where no such designation has been made, the mayor may designate an acting administrator.

• Select and employ, with the approval of the town council, a person to serve as assistant town administrator, provided that the town council has included funding for such provision in the annual budget.

Both positions receive a salary.

According to Interim Town Administrator Lisa Wallace, the current mayoral salary is $15,000 per year. The vacant town administrator position is being advertised at $107,591 to $150,627 per year.

However, not much will change for the mayor in terms of salary — at least until the next election.

"They cannot pay the mayor any more than what he's being paid right now," Hair said. "You cannot increase the salary of councilman or mayor until after the next general election with at least two people up for reelection."