You may have recently heard that Santa Fe will soon stand up a Charter Commission to consider how our municipal government is organized and how it could work better. We’re required by our Charter to conduct such a review every ten years. My note today is the first in a series of notes related to why our City government is organized the way it is, how it used to function and how it might look different following the coming Charter Commission.
Ten years ago, a group of Santa Fe residents, empaneled as a Charter Commission, brought forward a set of proposals to update and amend the City Charter. Chief among them was the recommendation that the City government have a full-time Mayor. In effect, the Mayor was to have the authority and responsibility to function as the City’s Chief Executive Officer, proposing the budget and hiring and firing the City Manager, the City Clerk and the City Attorney. The City Manager was to be the Chief Operating Officer, running the government on a day-to-day basis with the department heads reporting to him or her. The City Council was to be the Board of Directors, setting policy, adopting the budget, passing legislation, and providing oversight.
The proposal was overwhelmingly passed by a vote of the people of Santa Fe.
I am the City’s first full-time Mayor (not a “strong” Mayor — more on that difference at a later date). Our City government is still finding its way into these new roles; it’s very much a work in progress—although progress is being made. Now, as we head for another Charter Commission and another round of proposals to continue to update and improve the way the City works, it’s worth reflecting on why these changes were made in the first place.
What were the problems that Commission sought to solve? What were the opportunities they hoped to address?
There were several, but chief among them was the misalignment of authority and responsibility in City government. The Mayor was part-time, filling more of a ceremonial than a leadership role. The Mayor’s title suggested that the buck stopped at his or her desk. The part-time Mayor had the appearance of responsibility, but not the reality of authority.
The City Councilors were—and still are—part-time. The City Manager not only ran the City government; he or she also set the agenda for the City, provided the vision and direction for the City and, in a de facto manner, was the City’s leader—although un-elected. The City Council members were, each in their own way, mini-Mayors. A majority of the Council could hire and fire the City Manager.
That meant the City Manager danced to nine different tunes (one for each councilor plus the Mayor); department heads were subject to changing directions and shifting priorities, depending on the power dynamics of the Governing Body.
The results were predictable. If everyone was in charge, no one was really in charge. Top jobs in key department—the Finance director, the Chief of Police, to name just two—came to resemble revolving doors. Investments in key areas—information technology, job training and career development, modern buildings and infrastructure—languished for lack of a consistent managerial hand. Budget priorities and even day-to-day operational priorities could and did change, depending on the shifting political winds on the Governing Body.
It may have been an arrangement that fit Santa Fe in the past. Arguably times were simpler, problems less severe, the rate of change slower. But in the 21st century, the City needed a more professional, modern, and functional set of guidelines and responsibilities. It was time for a Charter upgrade, with better defined roles and clearer lines of authority.
That’s the direction the Charter Commission—and the people of Santa Fe—set us on. As I said, it’s a work in progress. And so far, it’s working.
More next week on some of the facts and fictions of the way your City government works.
Thanks for reading—let’s keep the conversation going.