CATHY ALLRED - Daily Herald | Posted: Thursday, April 6, 2006 11:00 pm
Lehi City Council members are considering changing the form of city government.
City recorder Connie Ashton was asked by the council to put the item -- which would significantly alter the mayor's role in the city -- on the April 11 council agenda for approval.
Mayor Howard H. Johnson said he had not been told of the council's intent. "I know absolutely nothing about it; I have never discussed it," Johnson said. "No comment, no information, no knowledge."
Councilman Johnny Barnes said the council had not gone out of its way to discuss the matter with the mayor. "That's why it will be brought up on Tuesday," he said. "I think he's aware now of it. That's why it was put on the agenda so it could be an open discussion as legally mandated."
Some on the council have suggested changing from a council/mayor form, under which the mayor is the chief administrative officer and votes only to break ties, to a council/manager form, under which the city manager runs city operations and the mayor would conduct meetings, break ties and serve as a figurehead for city government at community events.
The city now has an administrator, Ed Collins, who runs the day-to-day operations. After his election in November Mayor Johnson has taken over some of those duties, and that doesn't sit well with at least one member of the City Council.
"Let me put it this way -- I have not been pleased in the last three months because of a lack of leadership," Barnes said. "Some of those leadership characteristics we're talking about are to build the team, strengthen morale, to empower people to do their job, to help with self-worth or self-esteem, the positive reinforcement has got to be there.
"And I would daresay a great leader gathers input and counsel from those around him, which in this case includes his elected City Council."
Barnes said he has seen the mayor seek some counsel from council members but not to the extent he would like to see.
"We're not working as a team right now," he said. "That's why were taking the action now is to get ourselves back in line."
Barnes said he believes in a mayor and council who are policy makers and keep "their noses" out of the everyday operations of the city, relying on staff and the employees to do their jobs.
City Attorney Ken Rushton said he thought the public would probably not even notice the change in the city meetings should the form of government be changed. The mayor would still be voting in the case of a council tie, would conduct the meetings and would appear as a city representative during community events and functions.
"The administrative duties right now to some extent are shared by the mayor and the council," he said. "What the code provision permits, some if not all of the governing duties of the governing body would be vested in the manager."
Councilman Stephen Holbrook said the council/manager form of government was becoming more common among Utah cities as they become bigger, citing South Jordan and Kaysville as recent examples.
"I don't think it's going to be a drastic change, I think it's going to solidify the most efficient way to run the government," Barnes said. He said the matter had been looked at for several years and had been discussed since February.
Holbrook said he was asked by the council to spearhead the researching of governing options; he said it had been a matter of discussion for about four months "off and on."
Last month, the council asked the mayor to leave an executive session, or closed meeting, that was called to discuss personnel issues. Executive sessions are closed to the public and are allowed by state law for personnel, litigation and property discussions.
Johnson said he honored the council's request, but does not know if the discussion on a change in city government took place at that time.
If the closed session involved discussion of changing the city's form of government, it should have been an open meeting, said Joel Campbell, assistant professor in Brigham Young University's department of communications.
If the council closed a public meeting under the Utah Open Meetings Act citing personnel issues as the reason, and then discussed whether to change the city's government, it would constitute a violation of Utah law, Campbell said. Personnel issues are defined by state law as the competence or physical or mental characteristics of a city employee.
Katie Ashton contributed to this report.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.