08
Jun
2004
For all the deliberate planning happening in Davenport in recent years - River Renaissance improvements, Prairie Heights, the River Vision project, and the city's comprehensive plan, to cite a few examples - one key item is still being addressed haphazardly: the city's form of government.
Ironically, a new effort to extend city-council terms to four years is ostensibly being done to preserve many of the projects listed above.
Mayor Charlie Brooke in recent weeks began circulating petitions to change the terms of Davenport elected officials from two years to four years. If the mayor collects roughly 1,600 valid signatures, the question would have to go before voters in an election within 60 days. If it passes, the mayor and half the city council will be running for four-year terms in 2005, and the other half will be competing for two-year terms. All terms thereafter would be four years.
Brooke said his interest ends with extending terms, but other members of the city council want to go further and reduce the number of people on the city council - although no specific proposals have been offered. They're pitching the changes as "incremental" - doing one change first and another later.
The council is strongly in favor of change. In a February planning session, the goal "change structure and council terms" received votes from nine people on the council, although all governance changes need to go through voters.
"The issue of reducing the number of officials will not come up any time soon," said Bob McGivern, who represents Ward 6. "There's no sense in stopping something that is potentially more important."
The size of the council is "a bigger question that need not cloud this issue," said Steve Ahrens, who represents the entire city on the council. "Change should be done incrementally."
While this approach might be politically expedient, it doesn't suggest that the city's leaders are planning to change the nature of Davenport city government after a thorough, comprehensive review.
"This Isn't a Good Way to Govern"
Taking a piecemeal approach to governance issues is not unusual in cities around the country. "It's not uncommon to look at the specific, most-pressing aspects" of city government, said Derek Okubo, vice president of the National Civic League, which last year published the eighth edition of its Model City Charter. (For more information, visit http://www.ncl.org.)
By taking on city governance one issue at a time, "they're very focused," Okubo said.
On the other hand, this piecemeal approach has some potential drawbacks. For one thing, it raises a key question: "By changing one area, does it change another?" Okubo said.
In the case of Davenport, leaders are working to create some continuity on the council. But four-year staggered terms - in which half the council would be up for election one year, and the other half would be up two years later - would make it difficult for voters to quickly effect change on the council if they don't like what they see.
And Davenport voters have been willing to do that. In 1999, following strong disapproval of the council's plan for city-owned property at 53rd Street and Eastern Avenue, the public elected a slate of candidates opposed to the project. And since then, 17 different people have served on the 10-person council.
That type of turnover would probably be a thing of the past if Brooke's petition gets on the ballot and passes - and that's the point.
"Every two years the consensus is changed," Brooke explained. Staggering four-year terms would assist in "continuity of long-range planning."
"It's easy to go back and forth instead of moving forward," Ahrens said.
But is the problem real or imagined? When asked to give examples of council priorities that have changed because of council turnover, Brooke was vague, saying that some goals that had been top-10 priorities dropped on the list. He came up with one example: that Wayne Hean had been a vocal supporter of the citywide crime committee, and that when he was defeated last year, "we lost that strong advocate."
Ahrens similarly couldn't come up with a concrete example of a project that was derailed by council turnover.
McGivern offered the 53rd and Eastern project as a victim of the council's two-year election cycle. "It's almost like starting the process all over again," he said. "This isn't a good way to govern."
Another argument that doesn't hold much water is that there's a trend toward four-year terms. "Many other communities have that," Ahrens said.
While it's true that the other major Quad Cities all have four-year terms (see sidebar), two-year terms aren't archaic or uncommon, Okubo said. The National Civic League, while it does have standards and guidelines for various aspects of governance, leaves the issue of term length to the individual community; two-year terms are a valid and reasonable way to govern, he said, and give voters a greater say in city issues. And it seems to work okay for the U.S. House of Representatives.
A better argument for four-year staggered terms is that it reduces the amount of inaction on the council.
"Two-year terms come around very quickly," Okubo said. Councils with two-year cycles tend to "focus on re-election rather than issues."
"It causes us to not act when we should act," McGivern said.
Ahrens agreed that frequent elections do factor into council decisions. "It's not done audibly, but I don't think anybody would say that doesn't happen," he said.
Davenport City Administrator Craig Malin, who as a city staff member is not allowed to be directly involved in these governance issues, said two-year terms create a council that's "unnecessarily short-sighted and fractured." Because of the two-year election cycle, he said, "they can put off problems."
Yet inaction isn't forced on the council; it's a choice. Voters are essentially being asked to change the terms because the city council hasn't done its job and addressed problems in a timely fashion.
Brooke said many issues before the council will require a long time to implement - such as the Prairie Heights "new urbanism" development at 53rd and Eastern, revitalizations of central-city neighborhoods, and the River Vision plan. An unfriendly council "could very well undo about four years of effort" with Prairie Heights, Brooke said, and River Vision will take 10 to 15 years to implement. "There isn't anything any elected official can vote for that doesn't take several years," Brooke said.
Malin said that switching Davenport's elections from partisan to nonpartisan created a leadership vacuum that exacerbates the continuity problem. Before, the parties provided an "established leadership structure" that each council member was involved in. Now, he said, "you have free agents. People are in it for themselves. It's unnecessarily fragmented." Four-year terms would stabilize the system, he said.
But Davenport citizens would be wise to ask their leaders what the endpoint is. Okubu said that one drawback to tackling one component of governance at a time is that it can lead to a situation in which the form of government is changing regularly. And that's certainly possible in Davenport, where there's already talk about following a term referendum this year with a ballot issue sometime in the future to reduce the size of the Davenport council.
"That Reduces the Temperature"
Brooke isn't necessarily endorsing the idea of reducing the number of council members and claims it's not part of his agenda. "I never have looked into the reduction in the number," he said.
He said that he might support a reduction if it could be combined with doubling aldermanic pay, to keep the council's budget at the same level.
Nobody has come forward with a specific proposal to change the size of the city council. McGivern said he'd support a system with all at-large seats, but he added: "What's the magic number? ... I don't know." He said he might also support reducing the number of ward seats to four. "We've divided our city up into these little parochial components," he said.
McGivern admitted that reducing the size of the council isn't a popular idea with the current city council. "I don't think there's a lot of support ... to do this," he said. Of course, reducing the number of people on the council would cost some aldermen their seats, and ultimately, the council doesn't have a role in the decision; it would be up to voters if enough petition signatures are collected.
Malin said that larger or no wards could reduce the tension on the council. Under that situation, he said, council members would "represent broader constituencies. That reduces the temperature already."
But Okubu said that 10 council members is a reasonable number for a city of Davenport's size, and that the mix of at-large and ward seats should depend on the community. Combining at-large positions with wards works best in cities where a citywide perspective is needed but where different parts of the city have different needs.
So far, there's no clearly articulated argument for reducing the size of Davenport's city council. Larger wards or no wards would make elections more expensive because the number of people a candidate would need to reach would grow. That, in turn, would reduce the chance that a political outsider such as Keith Meyer could win a seat. Most of the city council has made no secret of its contempt for Meyer - who has consistently questioned council actions - and that's one possible motive for the council-reduction idea.
But Ahrens, who said he has no position on the size of the council, thinks that discussion is for another day. If the issue of term length makes it to the ballot, he said, then advocates of other changes need to "make sure the community conversation [about governance] continues."
Sidebar: Council Composition and Terms in the Quad Cities
• Bettendorf (population 31,275): seven council members (five ward, two at-large), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• Davenport (98,359): 10 council members (eight ward, two at-large), two-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• East Moline (20,333): seven council members (all ward), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• Moline (43,768): eight council members (seven ward, one at-large), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• Rock Island (39,684): seven council members (all ward), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
Ironically, a new effort to extend city-council terms to four years is ostensibly being done to preserve many of the projects listed above.
Mayor Charlie Brooke in recent weeks began circulating petitions to change the terms of Davenport elected officials from two years to four years. If the mayor collects roughly 1,600 valid signatures, the question would have to go before voters in an election within 60 days. If it passes, the mayor and half the city council will be running for four-year terms in 2005, and the other half will be competing for two-year terms. All terms thereafter would be four years.
Brooke said his interest ends with extending terms, but other members of the city council want to go further and reduce the number of people on the city council - although no specific proposals have been offered. They're pitching the changes as "incremental" - doing one change first and another later.
The council is strongly in favor of change. In a February planning session, the goal "change structure and council terms" received votes from nine people on the council, although all governance changes need to go through voters.
"The issue of reducing the number of officials will not come up any time soon," said Bob McGivern, who represents Ward 6. "There's no sense in stopping something that is potentially more important."
The size of the council is "a bigger question that need not cloud this issue," said Steve Ahrens, who represents the entire city on the council. "Change should be done incrementally."
While this approach might be politically expedient, it doesn't suggest that the city's leaders are planning to change the nature of Davenport city government after a thorough, comprehensive review.
"This Isn't a Good Way to Govern"
Taking a piecemeal approach to governance issues is not unusual in cities around the country. "It's not uncommon to look at the specific, most-pressing aspects" of city government, said Derek Okubo, vice president of the National Civic League, which last year published the eighth edition of its Model City Charter. (For more information, visit http://www.ncl.org.)
By taking on city governance one issue at a time, "they're very focused," Okubo said.
On the other hand, this piecemeal approach has some potential drawbacks. For one thing, it raises a key question: "By changing one area, does it change another?" Okubo said.
In the case of Davenport, leaders are working to create some continuity on the council. But four-year staggered terms - in which half the council would be up for election one year, and the other half would be up two years later - would make it difficult for voters to quickly effect change on the council if they don't like what they see.
And Davenport voters have been willing to do that. In 1999, following strong disapproval of the council's plan for city-owned property at 53rd Street and Eastern Avenue, the public elected a slate of candidates opposed to the project. And since then, 17 different people have served on the 10-person council.
That type of turnover would probably be a thing of the past if Brooke's petition gets on the ballot and passes - and that's the point.
"Every two years the consensus is changed," Brooke explained. Staggering four-year terms would assist in "continuity of long-range planning."
"It's easy to go back and forth instead of moving forward," Ahrens said.
But is the problem real or imagined? When asked to give examples of council priorities that have changed because of council turnover, Brooke was vague, saying that some goals that had been top-10 priorities dropped on the list. He came up with one example: that Wayne Hean had been a vocal supporter of the citywide crime committee, and that when he was defeated last year, "we lost that strong advocate."
Ahrens similarly couldn't come up with a concrete example of a project that was derailed by council turnover.
McGivern offered the 53rd and Eastern project as a victim of the council's two-year election cycle. "It's almost like starting the process all over again," he said. "This isn't a good way to govern."
Another argument that doesn't hold much water is that there's a trend toward four-year terms. "Many other communities have that," Ahrens said.
While it's true that the other major Quad Cities all have four-year terms (see sidebar), two-year terms aren't archaic or uncommon, Okubo said. The National Civic League, while it does have standards and guidelines for various aspects of governance, leaves the issue of term length to the individual community; two-year terms are a valid and reasonable way to govern, he said, and give voters a greater say in city issues. And it seems to work okay for the U.S. House of Representatives.
A better argument for four-year staggered terms is that it reduces the amount of inaction on the council.
"Two-year terms come around very quickly," Okubo said. Councils with two-year cycles tend to "focus on re-election rather than issues."
"It causes us to not act when we should act," McGivern said.
Ahrens agreed that frequent elections do factor into council decisions. "It's not done audibly, but I don't think anybody would say that doesn't happen," he said.
Davenport City Administrator Craig Malin, who as a city staff member is not allowed to be directly involved in these governance issues, said two-year terms create a council that's "unnecessarily short-sighted and fractured." Because of the two-year election cycle, he said, "they can put off problems."
Yet inaction isn't forced on the council; it's a choice. Voters are essentially being asked to change the terms because the city council hasn't done its job and addressed problems in a timely fashion.
Brooke said many issues before the council will require a long time to implement - such as the Prairie Heights "new urbanism" development at 53rd and Eastern, revitalizations of central-city neighborhoods, and the River Vision plan. An unfriendly council "could very well undo about four years of effort" with Prairie Heights, Brooke said, and River Vision will take 10 to 15 years to implement. "There isn't anything any elected official can vote for that doesn't take several years," Brooke said.
Malin said that switching Davenport's elections from partisan to nonpartisan created a leadership vacuum that exacerbates the continuity problem. Before, the parties provided an "established leadership structure" that each council member was involved in. Now, he said, "you have free agents. People are in it for themselves. It's unnecessarily fragmented." Four-year terms would stabilize the system, he said.
But Davenport citizens would be wise to ask their leaders what the endpoint is. Okubu said that one drawback to tackling one component of governance at a time is that it can lead to a situation in which the form of government is changing regularly. And that's certainly possible in Davenport, where there's already talk about following a term referendum this year with a ballot issue sometime in the future to reduce the size of the Davenport council.
"That Reduces the Temperature"
Brooke isn't necessarily endorsing the idea of reducing the number of council members and claims it's not part of his agenda. "I never have looked into the reduction in the number," he said.
He said that he might support a reduction if it could be combined with doubling aldermanic pay, to keep the council's budget at the same level.
Nobody has come forward with a specific proposal to change the size of the city council. McGivern said he'd support a system with all at-large seats, but he added: "What's the magic number? ... I don't know." He said he might also support reducing the number of ward seats to four. "We've divided our city up into these little parochial components," he said.
McGivern admitted that reducing the size of the council isn't a popular idea with the current city council. "I don't think there's a lot of support ... to do this," he said. Of course, reducing the number of people on the council would cost some aldermen their seats, and ultimately, the council doesn't have a role in the decision; it would be up to voters if enough petition signatures are collected.
Malin said that larger or no wards could reduce the tension on the council. Under that situation, he said, council members would "represent broader constituencies. That reduces the temperature already."
But Okubu said that 10 council members is a reasonable number for a city of Davenport's size, and that the mix of at-large and ward seats should depend on the community. Combining at-large positions with wards works best in cities where a citywide perspective is needed but where different parts of the city have different needs.
So far, there's no clearly articulated argument for reducing the size of Davenport's city council. Larger wards or no wards would make elections more expensive because the number of people a candidate would need to reach would grow. That, in turn, would reduce the chance that a political outsider such as Keith Meyer could win a seat. Most of the city council has made no secret of its contempt for Meyer - who has consistently questioned council actions - and that's one possible motive for the council-reduction idea.
But Ahrens, who said he has no position on the size of the council, thinks that discussion is for another day. If the issue of term length makes it to the ballot, he said, then advocates of other changes need to "make sure the community conversation [about governance] continues."
Sidebar: Council Composition and Terms in the Quad Cities
• Bettendorf (population 31,275): seven council members (five ward, two at-large), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• Davenport (98,359): 10 council members (eight ward, two at-large), two-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• East Moline (20,333): seven council members (all ward), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• Moline (43,768): eight council members (seven ward, one at-large), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
• Rock Island (39,684): seven council members (all ward), four-year terms for council and mayor, next election 2005.
