Cape looks for strong city manager

When Cape Girardeau's mayor and city council announced the recent firing of city manager Mike Miller, there were nods of approval from some residents and murmurs of dismay from others -- even though many of these folks had never met the man whose job for the past seven-plus years was to manage all the complicated municipal services.

For many Cape Girardeans, their knowledge of the city manager is limited to what they read in the newspaper or see and hear on radio and TV and on the televised council sessions. Except for rare occasions, readers and viewers had little opportunity to learn much about Mike Miller the man.

And that's pretty much the way Miller wanted it. As a professional city manager, he encouraged a higher level of professionalism for department heads and workers, but he preferred to have elected officials take on most public duties.

Among city managers, a behind-the-scenes role is the one generally favored. The notion is that voters choose the mayor and council, who ought to be answerable to the pubic. The city manager is hired by -- and accountable to -- the council.

There is logic in this approach, but there also is ample opportunity for communication breakdowns, particularly when the city's elected officials are part-time while the city manager and his staff are expected to deliver essential city services around the clock. Staff members tend to be far more knowledgeable about the finer points of city operations than elected officials, whose main responsibility is to set policy and guide the city's development and progress.

Perhaps the biggest communication breakdown occurs when complicated issues must be explained to voters or when city services lag behind residents' expectations. Many Cape Girardeau residents feel comfortable contacting the mayor and council members in situations like this, but there often is more reliance on the professional staff in sticky situations.

The correlation between the failure of four city tax and fee issues on the ballot in April and the city manager's firing has not been made by the mayor or council members, but the fact remains that the complicated revenue package was difficult to explain. Miller was asked to make most of the public presentations, and the critiques were not favorable.

The mayor and many of the council members are relatively new to their positions, having been elected just over a year ago. But the new members, and the mayor in particular, seem to be taking a much more active hands-on role in governing the city. In addition, they have made it clear they want a city manager who is more a public official who can inspire confidence among residents that the city is providing high-quality services.

As the nationwide search for a new city manager plays out, it will be interesting to see if the behind-the-scenes philosophy of most professional city managers can be meshed with the mayor's and council's desire for a more vocal and accessible manager. The choice will play a significant role in determining the aggressiveness and stability of city operations and projects for years to come.