Proposed City Charter Will Be Decided By Voters of St. George on Mar. 29 Ballot

St. George Charter Commission under the leadership of Councilman Ryan Heck has drafted a proposed City Charter for St. George.

Under state law, once proposed, the Charter goes directly to the people for a vote, which will occur at the same time as St. George’s municipal election on Saturday, March 29.

The proposed Charter is unique, at least in Louisiana, in that it provides for a Council-led government. Of the 303 municipalities in the state, none has a Council-led government.  The others all follow the traditional model of a strong mayor and strong separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.

In Louisiana, state law provides a standard format for municipalities.  It is called the Lawrason Act, unless a city opts to adopt a City Charter.  A total of 31 of 303 cities have a City Charter in Louisiana. However, no city in Louisiana with a City Charter has a Council-led government.

One of the chief features of the Lawrason Act is a strong Mayor.  The Mayor appoints almost all officials and runs the executive branch of the municipal government.  The Mayor also proposes the city budget.  Under the Lawrason Act, the City Council can accept or reject the city budget but cannot amend it.  This all-or-nothing approach tends to force the Mayor and Council to work closely on budget matters.

In a Lawrason Act city, the Mayor also presides at City Council meetings and can veto ordinances passed by the Council.  However, the Council can override a veto by a two-thirds’ vote.  One of the advantages of a strong mayor form of government is that if things go bad, voters know who to hold accountable — the Mayor.

The proposed St. George City Charter provides for a significantly different form of government. Most power would reside in the Council, which would appoint a City Manager to run the city day to day.  The City Manager would have considerable power, even proposing the budget for the city.

Day to day, city employees would be subject to the jurisdiction of the City Manager, who would hire and fire them, not the Mayor.

The Mayor would continue to preside at Council meetings and could veto ordinances, subject to being overridden by the Council.

Discussions at the St. George City Council indicate the Council is considering paying the City Manager $250,000 or more a year.

Opponents of the City Manager position say it might be appropriate for Baton Rouge or a traditional city but not for a privatized city like St. George is likely to be.

The City of Central, the only privatized city in Louisiana, has never had a City Manager.  Central contracts with IBTS to provide all city services. IBTS is a non-profit which returns part of any profit to the City of Central.

The purpose of the private company that runs the City of Central is just that — to run the city.  It provides all city services for the city except police and fire.

One elected official in Central said, “Why would we want a City Manager?  Managing the city is what we pay IBTS to do.  The Mayor works directly with the program director of IBTS.  There is no need to pay someone $250,000 to ‘run the city’ in a privatized city.”

However, the St. George Charter Commission feels the City Manager is needed to be a buffer between the City Council and the private company operating the city.

IBTS is short for Institute for Building Technology & Safety. The founders include the Council of State Governments, National Association of Counties, National Governors Association, the National League of Cities, and the International City/Council Management Association.

IBTS won the master contract to run the City of Central in 2011 over CH2MHill and several other bidders. Their contract has been renewed repeatedly since then.

The City of St. George has hired IBTS to staff the Planning & Zoning Commission and administer building permits and occupational licenses during the city’s startup period.  If St. George does in fact pursue a privatized model, IBTS and other contractors would likely compete for that contract.

IBTS has established its office in St. George at 13646 Perkins Road.  The program manager in St. George is Scot Byrd.

Central could be considered the best model of a privatized city in the nation.  It has only five city employees and operates with large surpluses.  IBTS provides 45 staff to run the City of Central.  

The pioneer in public-private partnerships was Sandy Springs, GA.  However, it moved away from the privatization model and now has more than 400 city employees.

If voters approve the proposed St. George City Charter, the charter will govern the city. If it fails, St. George will continue under the Lawrason Act provided by state law.