Group unveils strong-mayor proposal
The mayor of Colorado Springs would have broad new powers to run the government under a plan unveiled by a group championing a November ballot proposal for a strong-mayor system.
Among the highlights:
• The mayor would be a full-time chief executive, replacing the city manager and earning 110 percent of El Paso County commissioners’ salary, which is set by the state Legislature. Under that formula, the mayor would be paid $96,250 in 2010.
• The City Council would become the legislative branch of the city. An at-large council member would be elected to replace the mayor, keeping the council at nine members – and their individual pay at $6,250 a year. The council would elect a president.
• The mayor would be elected by a majority, not a plurality, of voters and would appoint the city attorney, chief financial officer, police chief and fire chief. The appointments would be subject to council confirmation.
• The council would appoint the city auditor, city clerk, Memorial Health System Board of Trustees and the CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities.
• The mayor could veto council ordinances, with a few exceptions, including land-use matters. The council could override a mayoral veto with two-thirds vote.
Citizens for Accountable Leadership, which is advocating the governance change, started to craft the proposal with the idea “that an elected CEO responsible to the voters would be a better way than what we’re doing right now,” co-chair Andy McElhany said.
“Right now, the city manager, who is accountable only to (the City Council), is the CEO of the city government,” he said Thursday.
“Under the new system, the CEO will be the elected mayor, accountable to the voters, but his (or her) appointment of city staff, department heads, etcetera, will be subject to confirmation by City Council, so there’s checks and balances,” McElhany said.
Kevin Walker, director of the group, said the group wants the community to provide feedback on the proposal, which is available at www.springsaccountabilitynow.org under the “documents” link.
“We consider this to be a draft, and we are open to changing it if there’s compelling discussion and evidence and a good idea,” he said.
Organizers previously promised to solicit community input earlier in the process and host town hall meetings to help shape the proposal. But so far, only one town hall meeting is planned.
Walker said a focus group that included business people and a representative from the Council of Neighbors and Organizations helped draft the proposal.
“You have the best public involvement when you have something to react to,” he said.
Mayor Lionel Rivera, who developed a strong-mayor outline for the group to consider, said he generally supports the group’s proposal. He said many of his suggestions were incorporated into it.
“There’s some things that I told them I would change,” he said, from increasing the pay of council members to having voters elect a council president.
Buddy Gilmore, a local defense contractor who has announced his candidacy for mayor, said the group’s proposal left him with a lot of questions.
“When I read the statement of purpose on their website, I do not see the compelling reason to change our form of government,” he said in an e-mail. “Accountability has certainly been an issue here in the Springs, but there are a number of ways we can increase accountability and transparency.”
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TOWN HALL MEETING
Citizens for Accountable Leadership, which is advocating a strong-mayor form of government in Colorado Springs, is hosting a town hall meeting from 4-6 p.m. May 5 at the Stargazers Theatre and Event Center, 10 S. Parkside Drive.
