City needs a pro to run things | Letters | May 8

Published 9:33 am Friday, May 8, 2009

I want to start this by stating that I am in favor of the council-manager form of government for Bainbridge Island. Since moving here in 1999, I have always felt it to be the better structure.

Prior to moving here, I served on the city council of Clyde Hill, Wash.

Clyde Hill is part of the Points Community west of Bellevue and includes Medina, Hunts Point and Yarrow Point.

I had the opportunity to attend the monthly dinners of the Association of Suburban Cities of King County, which was basically an association that included all of the cities in King County except Seattle.

During that time, many of the new cities in King County were incorporating and all adopted the council-manager structure.

I asked several of the new mayors the reason for this, and each stated that it was the application of the Growth Management Act.

None felt qualified to deal with it, and went to the Association of Washington Cities for help in selecting a professional public administrator.

When I moved to the island, I noticed that there seemed to be no clear direction as to the future development or non-development of the island.

With this situation, I felt that the city needed to have a professional manager hired by the council as the CEO rather than an elected mayor to smooth out the administration of the city’s duties to its citizens, and to help us plan for a purposeful and sustainable future for the island.

Friends of mine on Medina’s City Council complained that their manager felt it was a waste of money to print business cards for them, and she refused to do so.

So, yes, we can find a strong person to manage this city of ours.

Stuart Case

Madison Hill