Local Government 101 - Mayors and City Council

Welcome to my blog - in this series I will walk you through what is most important to know about your city. What questions should you ask your elected officials, what is important to know when you are casting your vote at the ballot box, why local government elections are the most important elections, and what local governments actually do. 

As former school board member, former mayor of Thornton, and the current President & CEO of Civic Results and Executive Director of the Metro Mayors Caucus, I have over 15 years of experience with local and state government. Civic Results is a nonprofit organization that drives regional progress by uniting local governments, businesses, and nonprofits in collaborative problem-solving to deliver impactful solutions for communities. The Metro Mayors Caucus was formed in 1993 by mayors in the Denver metropolitan area to join forces to work on regional issues such as housing, transportation, transit, economic vitality and other important issues in the region. Before joining Civic Results, I was the Director of Opioid Response for Attorney General Phil Weiser, responsible for setting up the distribution of the State's Opioid Settlement Funds, winning a Johns Hopkins award as the first state to have a transparent and agreed upon (by over 300 local governments) Memorandum of Understanding dictating that 90% of the $750million coming into the state will be distributed to the local level. (Check out the John Oliver show and our shout out!! - about 24 minutes into the video). 

Hopefully my bio helps you see that I do know my stuff and why I feel compelled to share more about local government. This is the civics lesson you never got in school - and let's face it. You probably care more about it now anyway - and if you don't, please read on and I will attempt to change your mind!!!

Local Government 101 - All the things you need to know about Colorado local government.

Please note that I will refer to municipalities as cities, but know that some municipalities are also known as towns in Colorado.

Today we will focus on the mayor and city council members elected to serve their city.

The first thing you need to know about mayors and city council members, sometimes referred to as councillors, is that they run and are elected in nonpartisan elections. However, in the past several years, party politics have entered into city councils, creating contention among the ranks. This can cause policy conflicts to happen, often due to party politics and other differences among the elected officials who are charged with making policy decisions, making it difficult for hired city staff to identify priorities. Disruptions to public meetings, particularly city council meetings, hinders city councils from making important policy decisions and effectively doing the city business for which they were elected.

In Colorado, with just three exceptions (Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo), mayors across the state serve in a Council-Manager form of government. This means that the mayor and city council work together to form policies for the city. Once a policy is passed by a majority vote of city council, the City Manager carries out the policy direction on behalf of the mayor and city council. What most people don't know is this:

• Colorado mayors and city council members are paid a nominal wage to serve the city. This means that most people serving their city/town must either be wealthy, retired or employed full-time at a separate job. For those with full-time or part-time employment, it is nearly impossible to spend the amount of time needed on constituent issues, so they rely heavily on their manager and the staff to handle constituent concerns.
• Mayors are not "the boss", though they are the chief elected official and are often credited or blamed by constituents for the happenings in the city. Mayors who serve in a council-manager form of government differ depending upon the municipality's charter. A charter is the governing document of the municipality.  Home-rule municipalities in Colorado establish a charter when they move from a statutory municipality (governed by the State Constitution) to a home-rule municipality. The mayor and council give direction to the City Manager, City Attorney and/or Municipal Judge. Those three individuals report directly to the mayor and city council. All other employees report to one of the three listed above. 
• When I was mayor, I would get emails such as, "Mayor. You need to fire the Police Chief or you need to go do something about those people who clean the park". This is not something within the duties of mayor. As mayor, I could work with city council to direct the manager to tackle issues as they come up, if they aren't already, but I could not get in the weeds of everyday city business.
• The manager, attorney or judge must have a majority of the city council's direction (vote) before moving forward on any new initiative or policy. Some mayors vote alongside the city council, and others are a tie-breaker. In any case, the mayor must weigh in if the city council is tied. Please remember that this is different for Mayor-Council forms of government where the mayor is the Chief Operating Officer, hires their cabinet, and works with the city council to form a budget. These lucky mayors don't generally attend city council meetings, There is a city council president that is elected by the city council to chair the meetings.
• Most mayors are elected at-large (by the entire city) but for a few municipalities in Colorado, the city council appoints their mayor. Some appointments are annual and some are bi-annual.

So, the next time you think the mayor is rich, lives in a mansion on a hill, and has the power to get you out of a speeding ticket, remember that Hollywood creates an illusion of mayors that isn't true - at least not for most Colorado mayors anyway!!!

Next time we will look at city issues and what cities really do and do not do!

*Update - City councils can also be called Board of Trustees. Back east, there are also titles like Alderman and Superintendent. I'll mostly be addressing Colorado local government.