YES

The amendment to Change the Government of Fairhope, is just that, a change, from doing business as usual, to doing business smarter and more efficient. Many different blog sites and organizations are in support of the Council-Manager from of Government

Those few opposed are the hold outs from the past. Good ole Boys and Club Catalyst are scared to death that their day has come. The Fairhope City Council, an at large council, also is against any change. Ask yourself why? They know for the last 12 years the at large system has failed, miserably.

VOTE “YES” ON NOV 06, 2018

COUNCIL-MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT

The council-manager form of government was created to fight corruption and unethical activity within local government by fostering non-political management, transparency, responsiveness, and accountability.

Who Makes Up The “Council
Our City would be made up of Five Council members:

A Mayor elected at large, One Council member elected at large, Three Council members each elected by single districts.

Who Hires the City Manager?

The Council (Mayor and four Council members) appoint the City Manager whose qualifications and job description are defined by Alabama Code 11-43A-28.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of managers surveyed by International City/County Management Association (ICMA) had earned a master’s in public administration, business or public policy or other advanced degree. The survey also revealed that respondents had spent an average of more than 20 years working in the local government management profession.

It is Simply, the Most Common Form of Government in the US
53% of our nation’s cities with a population of 10-25k
62% of municipalities with a population of 25-50k

How are Districts Handled?

Districts shall be defined by an impartial third-party organization whose business it is to do exactly this and approved by Council.

Districts must be made up of approximately the same population to establish defined geographic areas of representation.

Benefits of Council-Manager Form of Government:

Districts create more accountability and better representation.

Forms a more collaborative working environment for elected officials because the Mayor is a part of Council. The focus becomes a collective vision for the City.It takes the politics out of day-to-day business, especially personnel!
Prevents special interests from controlling Council votes.

Council can no longer play political games with the budget because it MUST be passed by Oct 1st as mandated by state law – Alabama Code 11-43A-29.

Two-thirds of Moody’s AAA bond-rated communities are run by professional city managers which is a good indication of the success of this form of government.

Decreases operating expenses by increasing efficiency and improving productivity

Council-manager government combines the strong political leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed manager.

FRESH START FAIRHOPE IS EDUCATING PEOPLE BY EXPOSING RUMORS AGAINST CHANGE:

Hot rumors!
Several of you have asked about rumors you’ve heard since the election day was pushed back to November 6th, so let’s set the record straight and allow you to speak against these scare tactics with confidence.

1. The Mayor is going to appoint one of her friends to be City Manager.

False! This rumor is the one most often reported to me, but it’s false in so many ways it’s hard to begin. First of all, if the Referendum passes on November 6th, nothing changes with our City government until the Mayor and Council Members are elected (or re-elected) in the Fall of 2020 on the normal 4-year municipal election cycle. Secondly, in 2020 the new Council will have five members (Mayor plus four other Council members) and no one Member – even the Mayor – has the individual power to appoint or hire anyone, much less the City Manager. Only a majority of Council acting at a Public Meeting will be able to hire (or fire) the City Manager. And thirdly, the City Manager will be a qualified professional with an appropriate college degree(s) and lots of experience.

2. The Justice Department or the Probate Court will set the boundaries of the three election districts in Fairhope.

False! Alabama law is very clear that the current City Council, acting in Public Meetings, must set the boundaries of the three districts, and the districts must be of equal size by population.

3. Once a City Manager is hired, the Council will have little control over the Manager’s activities, and it will be next to impossible to discipline or terminate the City Manager.

False! By law the City Council will always be the ultimate authority in Fairhope and no employee including the City Manager is outside of the control of the Council. The City Council hires, disciplines, and fires the City Manager at its will. It’s the City Council that will set the parameters of the City Manager’s employment contract, so there will be no surprises.

4. The City Manager will cost too much money.

False! The City Manager will be paid about 15-20% more than the average salaries of the top Department Heads, which is a normal practice. If you review the benefits we have previously cited for having a City Manager (such as fewer lawsuits, better employee morale, improvements in City infrastructure, creation of strategic planning, elimination of redundancy in City staff, and so forth) the real truth is that we can’t afford not to have a City Manager.

5. A District Council Member will control City activities inside his/her district, and that Member will be have veto power over City projects inside the district.

False! You may have read about that kind of practice in large cities like Chicago and New York City, but Alabama law is very clear that the District Plan to be implemented in Fairhope does not permit individual Council Members, including the Mayor, to wield that kind of power. The Council may only act as a group, in public meetings, and then only by a majority of votes. And no one Member can interfere with the City Manager’s oversight and direction of the City workforce, under penalty of law.

6. The two At-Large members will likely join forces with one of the district members to work against the interests of the other two districts.

False! As you recall, the new Council in 2020 will consist of the Mayor and one Council Member both elected At-Large, plus three other Members each elected from one of three districts. The reason this rumor is false is that the two At-Large Members would be committing political suicide to create an on-going conspiracy of control with one district Member — for the simple reason that 2/3 of the voters who vote for the At-Large Members would toss the bums out at the next election. It just makes no sense that the At-Large Members would ignore the concerns and needs of a vast majority of the voters.

7. Voters already have access to all of the elected officials, they don’t need a better system of representation.

False! Which one of the five At-Large Council Members is watching out for the special concerns of the residents along US 98 north of 104 when issues like water pressure and large apartment complexes come up? Which one of the five At-Large Council Members is watching out for the special concerns of the residents east of US 98 especially along the 13 and 181 corridors when issues like growth management, zoning, and storm water management come up? And which one of the five At-Large Council Members is watching out for the special concerns of the residents in the new housing developments south of the High School when those same issues and concerns come up in their area?

*** Please let me know if you hear any more rumors so we can promptly confront them, thanks. ***

Please contribute if you can…

Thanks again to all of you who contributed money several weeks ago to the FSF 2018 fund in support of Fresh Start Fairhope. Most of that money was spent on advertising activities in anticipation of the election being held October 2nd, so our current fund balance is not enough to re-send our message to the voters before the new election date of November 6th.

Looking ahead, we have created our promotional strategy for the four weeks remaining until the revised election day, November 6th. This plan requires a budget slightly larger than what we spent in advance of the October 2nd non-election, so we need another round of fundraising.

Why spend money again? There are two reasons. Firstly, the opposition has had more time to prepare and put its own messaging out to the voters, and we must overcome that. Secondly, we have to present a more complicated set of facts than before, because the AG Opinion forces us to explain the District plan plus our own original message about the Council-Manager system. We are working on “content” right now, and we must have our fact-based arguments in a clear, concise format when we execute the meetings, social media advertising, and mailers we are planning. None of this can be left to the last minute, but getting out our complete message depends heavily on successful fundraising over the next 5-10 days. {From Fresh Start Fairhope}