Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Editorial: A strong manager is required
Style or substance? It is unknown what turned Roanoke City Council away from its manager. Council should make it clear.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Roanoke City Council decided Darlene Burcham was no longer wanted as city manager. Burcham's penchant for having her way didn't fail her Monday, though, as she will leave next spring rather than this fall as council initially intended.
The announcement followed a lengthy executive meeting and simply stated that Burcham would retire. Council neither voted nor offered the reasons behind booting Burcham.
Whether Burcham's management style or the direction she was heading did her in will be the subject of parlor games -- unless council steps up and sets the record straight.
It could easily be speculated that council members found fault with her lack of transparency in communicating with both them and the public. If so, they do nothing to reverse gears by ducking questions.
Equally important, council needs to tell the public what it expects from the next city manager because there is a huge distinction between a strong city manager form of government -- which Roanoke most certainly needs -- and a too-strong personality type that left them out of the decision-making process.
We hope it is style and not form that bothered council. The last thing Roanoke needs is a part-time mayor and council micromanaging city affairs.
A weak manager cast as Burcham's replacement would leave the city rudderless and with a crew of elected officials each rowing in different directions. Think city government is dysfunctional now? It could be far worse.
Councilwoman Gwen Mason, who chairs the personnel committee, said in an e-mail, "changing our form of government is not something council has talked about, considered or even put in the inbox." That's good, but council still must fight any tendency to replace the strong-willed Burcham with a door mat. A city with a strong city manager form of government can still end up with a weak person in that role.
Ideally, there needs to be a balance where the manager offers leadership and direction but also recognizes that council members are the people's representatives who set the ultimate course and who must have access to the information necessary to make wise decisions.
The juxtaposition of Burcham's strong style and less-inquiring former councils tilted the balance too far in her favor. She shared with council what she thought it needed to know, and nothing more. This is a practice the current council bucked.
In the interest of making informed choices, it has demanded of Burcham information that at times she hasn't been willing to share -- a practice that hampers council and alienates the public.
A savvy city manager recognizes that communication strengthens not only the relationship with council but with the community.
