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Mayor advocates changing system of government
By LESTER R. DAILEY
Article published on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 |
CLEARWATER – When Mayor Frank Hibbard says that Clearwater needs a strong mayor, he isn’t suggesting that the city pay for him to work out at a local gym. He’s saying that Clearwater should follow the lead of St. Petersburg, Tampa and other cities where the mayor is the actual CEO responsible for the day-to-day running of the city.
Clearwater currently uses a system whereby Hibbard heads a five-member City Council that gives direction and guidance to City Manager Bill Horne, who does the actual hiring, firing and administration. That’s the system used by most small cities but Hibbard feels that with a population of approximately 110,000 Clearwater should switch to the “strong mayor” system used by most large cities.
He said that his suggestion is no reflection on Horne, but merely a recognition that Clearwater has grown into the big leagues. Hibbard would also like to see the Charter Review Committee, which will meet from February to September, suggest changing the mayor’s term from its current three years to four years and moving city elections from March to November in hopes of getting higher voter turnout. Those changes to the City Charter would require approval of the voters.
Switching to a strong mayor form of government would change the mayor’s job from part-time to full-time. It would probably also bring a commensurate increase in salary, from approximately $20,000 a year to somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000.
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Article published on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007
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