City administrator idea for La Crosse comes up for debate at October council committee meetings

Leaders at La Crosse City Hall have been floating the idea of a city administrator again in recent weeks, and the concept will be on council agendas during the October meeting cycle.

The city’s Judiciary and Administration Committee will debate the idea Tuesday at its scheduled meeting.

A look, from the city, of the administrator’s duties include:

• 1. The Administrator coordinates and prepares the operating budget as a key policy document and presents the budget to the Council.
• 2. The Administrator establishes governmental effectiveness and performance measures/outcomes.
• 3. The Administrator coordinates and supervises a cooperative and interdisciplinary team of professionals serving the varying needs of the community.
• 4. The Administrator ensures that the organization is a high performing and learning organization.
• 5. The Administrator is responsible to the Council for the overall coordination and direction of the day-to-day operations of City government.
• 6. The Administrator is charged with providing the Council policy information and recommendations and implementation of Council policies.
• 7. The Administrator ensures that there is a fair and uniform application of policy between all departments within the city organization.

The salary the city is proposing for the position hovers around $180,000.

An administrator would manage day-to-day operations of city government, working along with the mayor and the common council. In the 2012 referendum, the idea was turned down by more than 60 percent of La Crosse voters.

The administrator proposal could go to the full council for discussion as early as its October 10th meeting.

The proposal for a full-time manager of city business, who would work with La Crosse’s mayor, city staff and the city council, was voted down in a 2012 referendum, and Mayor Mitch Reynolds has suggested the idea might be put on the ballot again.