Martino – City Council vs City Manager – Who Is In Charge?

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If you haven’t taken an interest in the how our Palm Beach Gardens City government has been conducting its business as of late, perhaps, it’s time you should. As the City Charter states: 

“The form of government of the City of Palm Beach Gardens shall be that known as the Council-Manager form of government”. “Residents are served by five non-partisan elected officials who are the policy making body of the City. These elected officials – the City Council – in turn, appoint the City Manager who is tasked with overseeing all administrative duties and the daily business operations of the City.”

You only have to listen to or view the videos of the October and November 2022 City Council meetings and you may ask yourself, as I do, the following question. Has the City Council become a body of individuals that are subservient to the City Manager/Administration rather than – the City Council – as the City Charter mandates?

As a 57-year City resident and past Mayor and Council member it pains me to make the following assessment. In my opinion, since the year 2000, our local City government has gradually morphed into a Manager-Council form of local government. This transition has been a slow but steady cultural change, particularly, in the conduct of the processes of Gardens governance. It is in stark contradiction with the City Charter’s basic tenet, Council-Manager form of government, as referenced above. Was this purposeful? Maybe. Is there blame? Probably; possible candidates could be City Council members since 2000, the current City Manager, subtle Charter changes, and we residents for not paying attention and not attending Council meetings regularly.

Since 2000, how has this cultural change happened? Some of my perspectives are the following….

• The City Councils have moved away from transparency and communication with the public
• Staff and generous salaries (including the Manager) has ballooned in all departments
• Only one (1) monthly regularly scheduled meeting with the public, down from two (2)
• Zero (0) regularly scheduled workshop meetings with the public, down from two (2)
• No workshops results in limited or no deliberation with elected members as a body/council
• No workshops results in  more dependence on staff, less input as a Council into city business
• Less Council work, salary raise, $10,000 to $35,000, & $30,000 in medical/pension benefits
• Abandoning Council traditions; i.e., not naming facilities after city officials and personalities
• Less than adequate review and oversight with no decipherable contract with City Manager
• City Manager assumes responsibilities that clearly reside in the purview of the City Council
• City Manager sets most, if not all of the agenda items for City business, City Council does not
• City Manager is contemptuous of workshop meetings, thus, none are regularly scheduled
• City Manager appears to selectively inform Council of important City business

Do we truly have a Council-Manager local government with the elected City Council members as the absolute hierarchy of our City governance? That is a question that should be asked. Without the City Council recognizing their absolute prominence in the organization of our City government and the City Manager understanding his Administrative position, my opinion and answer is NO.