Jeff, Request that you send this out to your e-mail network also. thanks. Pat - Please respond to directly to patshull75@aol.com
ADAPTING TO THE 21ST CENTURY: IMPROVEMENTS IN KINGSPORT’S MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
BY PAT SHULL, ALDERMAN, CITY OF KINGSPORT
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to suggest some courses of action that the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) can take to improve our government’s ability to deal with a changing environment. While the need to adapt to a changing environment is a constant, our times are characterized by an ever rapid pace of societal and economic change, highlighting the need for our city to be able to anticipate accurately, plan thoroughly, and act quickly and effectively. Though government cannot, and should not, address every conceivable community problem, our citizens’ expectations of what the BMA should do is more likely to grow than diminish. Succinctly, while there is room for debate regarding the proper role of our city government in a variety of areas, we must maintain our ability to effectively and efficiently fulfill that role once decisions are made.
I will discuss systemic topics in Part I while Part II covers key current issues with significant potential to affect Kingsport’s development over several years.
Part I – Changing the System
Here’s an interesting political question. Why is it so difficult for seven talented and positively motivated elected officials to jointly consider public business, reach sound conclusions, and act decisively? Answer: Because they are compelled to operate within a system that impedes their effectiveness. It is a simple fact that operating within the framework of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act – a.k.a. the “Sunshine Law”, inhibits the free exchange of ideas, positions, and compromise, among the BMA members. Plus, the resulting system renders it extremely difficult for the board to guide the actions of the City Manager, a key player in our council-manager form of government. As long as this constraint exists it is the fate of the BMA to be perceived by some citizens as a quarreling body of politicians that can’t seem to get on the same page. While I would prefer some modifications to the Sunshine Law (E.G. -Virginia has a similar, but more reasonable law), for the purpose of this paper I will assume that Tennessee’s law shall remain as currently written.
Municipalities are creatures of the state, and Kingsport’s charter is based on a private act by the Tennessee legislature in 1917. Some of the changes proposed herein may require enacting new private acts and necessitate approval through citizen referendum. This paper, however, does not address the mechanics of implementing the proposals, but merely states their substance.
Proposal 1 – Elect the Mayor to a Four-Year Term
Currently the Mayor is elected every two years by eligible voters to a (theoretically) part-time position. Some may see this as a positive, citing the ability to get rid of truly bad Mayor before he/she can do real damage. In my view this argument has little merit. First, the Mayor does have the ability to set the agenda, make appointments, and act unilaterally on minor issues. But he cannot veto board actions and has only one vote on all policy matters. The Mayor’s effectiveness is primarily based on his ability to influence the rest of the board. Being “first among equals” does not necessarily translate into the ability to lead on matters of importance. It takes time to build an agenda, persuade the board (in open, public meetings), and gain a working majority. He cannot even direct the actions of the City Manager if at least four Aldermen actively oppose the Mayor’s intentions. In my view, the Mayor must campaign almost constantly for re-election in order to gain sufficient opportunity to formulate policies, gain consensus, and see programs to fruition. And what if the Mayor has a full-time occupation and/or is not independently wealthy? Why do Aldermen have four year terms and the Mayor only two? In short, we need a leader, not a figurehead, to focus on complex issues like growth and strategic planning.
Proposal 2 – Create Aldermanic Districts
The six Kingsport Aldermen are elected at-large with three elected every two years. I propose that we create four districts with one Alderman per district and two Aldermen elected at large, one at each election. The district would be drawn on North-South lines that provide approximately the same number of residents per district. For example, moving West to East from the city limits bordering Mount Carmel, the first boundary would be Interstate 26; the next Wilcox Drive extending an imaginary line north to the city limits; and finally establishing the John B. Dennis Highway as the remaining boundary. The BMA and city staff could fine-tune the actual lines to achieve rational, proportional districts. But the advantage of using North-South lines is a relatively equal distribution of affluent and less affluent neighborhoods, and a varied demographic mix per district.
The historic argument for electing Aldermen at-large is that they will focus on the good of the city as a whole, and not fight endlessly over the “goodies” to be distributed to a particular district. The “flip-side” of this point is that Aldermen may simply overlook, not have time, or not be attuned to real needs in various parts of the city. The BMA that took office on July 1, 2005 was characterized by “clustering” of the members residing in a few neighborhoods (3 in the Ridgefields/Rotherwood area, 2 in Fairacres, and 2 in Preston Woods).
We elect State Senators and Representatives, U.S. Congressmen, and County Commissioners from districts in Tennessee to represent the interests of their constituents. Kingsporters deserve no less at the municipal level. Continuing to elect the Mayor and two Aldermen at large, and serving staggered terms are sufficient to mitigate the supposed ill effects of parochialism attributed to district representation. During my campaign for office, citizens asked me many times, “who is my Alderman”?
Proposal 3 – Establish a Strong-Mayor Form of Government
Kingsport was one of the first municipalities to adopt the present Council-Manager (CM) form of government. At the time the prevalent opinion was that Kingsport was sufficiently small enough for the BMA members to serve part-time and that a professional manager could effectively oversee the daily government activities of the city. While this arrangement served us well in the 20th Century, our population is significantly larger and the city government’s mission has grown increasingly complex. It is exceedingly difficult for our “part-time” elected officials, particularly the Mayor, to devote the necessary time to be informed on all issues and provide focused, coherent, consistent direction to the City Manager. In truth our current Mayor and his immediate, recent predecessors have had to devote an average of at least forty hours weekly to city business (at the grand pay of $300.00 monthly).
If one agrees that times have changed and that the city needs strong political leadership to resolve conflicts, plan strategically, and deal with growth and other difficult issues; then a serious debate is needed regarding which form of government is best for this century. As noted earlier, compliance with the Sunshine Law actually makes governing more difficult and un-naturally increases the power of the city manager. Unfortunately, a city manager can exploit the structural difficulties the BMA have in reaching consensus to either do nothing or do what he (alone) thinks is best. However, the essence of representative democracy is that citizens be governed by their elected representatives who are accountable to the citizens. Unelected officials must be responsive to the will of the people expressed through their representatives.
I envision that a full-time Mayor in this system would have authority to appoint the various department heads and a professional administrator. I would expect the Mayor to be paid approximately $30,000 annually and the city administrator’s annual salary to be in the $100,000 range. This system provides clear lines of authority and responsibility, and the opportunity for the Mayor to plan, program, and act decisively in all administrative areas.
I invite comments, questions, and discussion regarding these proposals.
Alderman Shull was elected to the BMA in 2005. He is a native of Kingsport, a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army and a small business owner in Kingsport. He is a graduate of The Citadel (BA), the University of Tennessee (MPA), the Army War College, Army Command & General Staff College, and various other professional institutions.
