From Shorenewsnow.com — City Council last week discussed whether the city should reconfigure its form of government, including the possibility of having seven council members instead of nine and a city manager instead of an administrator.

Councilwoman Carol Kienzle initiated the conversation at council’s Thursday, Sept. 11 meeting.

“I just personally think that nine (council members) is too much,” Kienzle said. “I just don’t understand (why we have that many.)”

She pointed out that the idea was talked about by a previous administration. In 2003, a four-member subcommittee was formed during the administration of Mayor James McGeary to explore whether it would be appropriate to change the city’s political configuration.

Kienzle, who served on that subcommittee, said its members supported making changes, but no action was taken by City Council.

She said having a city manager would make more sense for a city in which most of its council members hold full-time jobs. It would be more efficient use of time and money, she said, if the city administrator did not have to always call a council member when action needed to be taken.

Kienzle acknowledged that there would need to be limits on how much authority the city manager would have, particularly regarding how much spending could be authorized before requiring the governing body’s approval.

Although Egg Harbor City Administrator Tom Henshaw was unavailable for comment on this story, another local administrator was able to offer input.

Terry Dolan, city administrator for Absecon, said managers generally have supervisory control over all municipal departments whereas administrators have the same with the exception of the police department. In both cases, he said, the manager or administrator is responsible for preparing and submitting an annual budget to council.

Currently, the city operates under the Faulkner Act, a state statute that allows city government to be made up of a mayor and nine council members. The mayor is elected to a four-year term, while council members are elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis with three seats coming up for election each year.

In addition, Mayor Joseph Kuehner Jr. said, the city operates partially under the City Act of 1987, which allows council to appoint a chief financial officer and a city council president.

If the city were to go completely under the City Act, it would provide for a directly-elected mayor who serves a four-year term – which it already does – and a council that consists of seven members; three representing Ward 1, three representing Ward 2, for staggered three-year terms, and one elected at large for a four-year term.

There would be one council member from each ward up for election every year. The mayor is the chief executive and votes only to break a tie. The mayor has veto power over all or portions of any ordinance, subject to override by a two-thirds vote of the council.

The act also provides for the delegation of executive responsibilities to a city administrator.

An elected official representing a ward means that he/she will be the voice of the residents in a specific district of the municipality. An elected official who is at-large, however, serves on behalf of the entire community, not just a section of it.

Under the current system all nine members are at large.

If a consensus were reached among council members to reconfigure its form of government, Kuehner said, the decision can only be finalized with a referendum vote.

Having council members representing wards, rather than the whole community didn’t resonate well with at least one member of council. City Council President Pro Tempore Ed Dennis said having governing body members representing wards would create division among members.

“We can be changing direction every other year,” Dennis said.

City Council President Jack Peterson said the possibility of change is at least worth discussing. He said he is curious to know how the public feels about the matter.

While it’d too late to have a change of government referendum on the ballot for the upcoming election in November, Kuehner said discussions will be ongoing about the issue and a subcommittee may be formed to discuss it.