During the November 2013 off-year elections, a number of communities voted on issues affecting form of government and professional local government management:

Florida

Mayor-Council Proposal Fails in Eatonville
Voters in Eatonville, Florida (pop. 2,229), rejected a proposal to institute the mayor-council form of government in the town by a vote of 270 to 169. The town currently operates under a hybrid system adopted through a 1998 town ordinance, which established the mayor as “the executive and administrative officer of the town, charged with the efficient conduct of the town affairs and with enforcement of ordinances and laws with the corporate boundaries of the municipality.” That same ordinance granted the town council the authority to hire the town clerk, fiscal officer, police chief, and other personnel but allows the mayor to suspend those employees with council approval.

Thumbs Up to Council-Manager in Kenneth City
Sixty-one percent (406 out of 665) of voters who went to the polls in the November 5 Kenneth City, Florida (pop. 4,995), election favored a change to council-manager government from the current hybrid mayor-council form, in which each of the four town council members oversees a town department and the mayor serves as the town financial officer.

New Jersey
Council-Manager Still “The Boss” in Asbury Park
An August charter-review commission report proposed tweaking the council-manager form of government established in 1923 in Ashbury Park, New Jersey (pop. 15,865).  Prior to the November 5 election, the city operated under a municipal manager form of government, as provided for by state law, in which voters elected a five-member council to concurrent, four-year terms, and the council selected one of its own to serve as mayor. The council also appointed a manager to oversee the city’s administrative functions. By a nearly 3-to-1 margin (1,204 in favor and 403 against) voters approved changing to the council-manager form, and Asbury Park residents will now have the opportunity to directly elect a mayor and five-member council with staggered, four-year terms through nonpartisan elections. Under the new council-managerform, the manager’s responsibilities will remain unchanged, while residents will be granted the powers of initiative and referendum.  Asbury Park will hold an election for council members and the mayor under the new form of government in November 2014.

Ohio
Marysville Adopts Council-Manager
Residents in the city of Marysville, Ohio (pop. 22,051), approved a change from mayor-council to council-manager by less than 300 votes. The measure passed 1,655 (55%) to 1,371 (45.3%).  When Marysville begins operating under the council-manager form in January 2016, the governing body will select an individual from among its membership to serve as mayor and council president for a one-year term, after which the director of administration’s title will change to city manager.  The city of Marysville is located approximately 34 miles northwest of Columbus.

North Carolina
Bladenboro Chooses Mayor-Council over Council-Manager
Official Bladen County Board of Elections election results were unavailable at the time of this writing, but media reports indicated that on November 5, voters in Bladenboro, North Carolina (pop. 1,739), abandoned their current council-manager government in favor of the mayor-council form.

South Carolina
Mayor-Council Out in Inman, South Carolina
Voters approved abandoning the mayor-council form of government for the council-manager form in Inman, South Carolina (pop. 2,380), paving the way for the city council to hire an administrator.  The new form of government takes effect in July 2014.

Washington
Council-Manager Preserved in Pasco
Voters in Pasco (pop. 65,398), located roughly 135 miles southwest of Spokane,  resoundingly retained the council-manager structure and rejected a proposal to adopt the mayor-council form by a vote of 5,057 (61%) to 3,214 (39%).

Port Orchard Rejects Council-Manager
Proposition 1, which would have changed the form of government in Port Orchard, Washington (pop. 11,680), from mayor-council to council-manager, failed by a vote of 1,996 (69%) to 915 (31%). 

Washougal Says “No” to Council-Manager
Thirty-five percent of registered voters in Washougal, Washington (pop. 14,584), rejected a ballot measure that would have changed the current mayor-council form of government to council-manager.  Election results indicated that 1,917 (65%) voters opposed the switch against the 1,010 (35%) voters who wanted change. ICMA assisted the pro-council-manager group Washougal First with information and guidance during its campaign and provided a financial contribution from the ICMA Fund for Professional Management to assist in underwriting the costs of its campaign advertisements.

Need Form-of-Government Assistance?

ICMA remains committed to advocating and promoting professional local government management, with the council-manager form as the preferred structure. For information, visit ICMA’s Council-Manager Form of Government topic page, or contact: Michele Frisby, director of communications & public information, at mfrisby@icma.org or 202-962-3658.