Duties of a Mayor:

Grand Terrace has determined that there is a need for a Mayor. The question now is what are the duties of a Mayor. There are current limited functions of the mayoral position as it now stands under the current selection process.

Obviously this has been viewed by the citizens of this community as being insufficient. The City Staff and Lawyers should make readily available on the City Web site the ordinances and state law defining the current practice and duties of the mayoral position.

The Legal advisors to the City and the Citizens should include in a separate report what increased or decreased functions of a mayor would fit within the current form of city incorporation. The Citizens should then vote on the duties of the City Mayor while electing the first Mayor. Each mayoral function should be a separate measure item on the ballot.

The duties of the Mayor should not be defined by the current council, or the city manager, or the legal advisors. The Citizens of Grand Terrace should define the scope of the function of Office of the Mayor. This will permit the governed to define the government, and may cut out the squabble factor brewing on the council.

It is clear, the citizens want a mayor. The question is why. The gadflys may be an indication of why. Their questions and concerns are the secretive dealings of the RDA, the City Manager's double talk, and heavy handed dealings with property owners and small business in the City, the apparent release of contracts without sufficient disclosure of the bidding and selection process. The lack of a basic friendliness when dealing with the city staff is also an apparent problem.

Would the citizens have approved a house as part of the compensation for the City Manager if it was voted on? Will the citizens allow the City Manager to hand pick lawyers, traffic engineers, and other subcontracting on the good ol buddy plan, or will the new Mayor have the job of oversight of contract procedure compliance?

It is the burden of the citizens to define it's governments function, not vise versa. The City Council, City Staff, and yes the City Manager are our servants, not vise versa.