As I See It
Does La Crosse need a city administrator?
What is the best way to run the city of La Crosse? That question is up for debate again, a dozen years after voters said they like the current system best. La Crosse is run by a mayor, with a handful of department heads and 13 council members. But Mayor Mitch Reynolds is pushing for the idea of a city administrator to be in charge. He wants council members to debate the idea in coming months. La Crosse weighed in on the issue in 2012, when then Mayor Matt Harter proposed hiring a city administrator. That went to referendum, and it was defeated overwhelmingly. Have things changed since? The idea of hiring an administrator would free up the mayor to do things other than running the day-to-day operations of a city. They are typically schooled in running cities efficiently, and some argue hiring an administrator would lead to efficiencies and ultimately lower taxes. But an administrator would not replace the mayor and would likely draw a triple-figure salary, in addition to the mayor’s salary. Some argue that because an administrator is not an elected position, it would be more difficult to replace them if they were unhappy with the results. Good arguments can be made on both sides. But one thing is clear, if La Crosse voters get to weigh in on the idea, as we saw in 2012, winning over their support could be a tough sell.
Bob N.
September 17, 2024 at 9:50 am
Definition: Red Herring:
“A Red Herring is something that distracts from a more important issue.”— Cambridge Dictionary.
The mayor may be throwing out this failed idea of La Crosse making the major change to a city administrator form of government as a Red Herring to change the subject away from the squatters-homeless-vagrants-derelicts problem that he has been unable to solve and will not solve employing the same tired, failed tactics of the past 3 1/2 years.
There’s a mayor election in La Crosse in only 6 months. A trial balloon on the subject of an administrator may determine whether he decides to seek re-election.
nick
September 18, 2024 at 5:23 am
The cost of a city administrator will start high and only go up. The mayor’s salary should be reduced since they will not have as much to do. The council’s work load would be reduced or at least should be.
Should their salary also be reduced?
Come On Man
September 18, 2024 at 7:44 am
If La Crosse votes to have a city administrator at $200K a year, the mayor’s position should be eliminated.
This administrator would do all the heavy lifting (city budget and day to day operations) so why would we need the mayor’s position? To kiss babies and turn a shovel of dirt over when a business builds a new building? We could have someone from the common council do that.
If you want to keep the mayor’s position, make it an unpaid position.
We have to stop the bleeding of spending endless money trying to balance a budget, meet taxpayers needs and let’s not forget taking care of the homeless / unsheltered.
Roy
September 18, 2024 at 10:14 am
Eau Claire has a City Administrator..unelected of course..who by nature of the powers invested, becomes the spokesman of how it’s residents should think. News story….
Tensions flared last fall in western Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley with news that several dozen refugees would be resettled in and around the city of Eau Claire, one of several midsize cities across the U.S. that has grappled with refugee resettlement. The city served as a backdrop to a campaign rally Tuesday with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, who has focused on immigration and anti-immigrant rhetoric as he and former President Donald Trump campaign for the White House. City Manager Stephanie Hirsch says the city should welcome all newcomers, including refugees. But opponents say the city should have other priorities.
Sam
September 18, 2024 at 7:35 pm
If Mayor Mitch finds this mayor job too difficult to do, then maybe he should be looking for a change of career. It reminds me of how he quit WIZM for some unknown reason. I think the listeners got to him. We do not need a part time mayor, rather we need one who takes the job seriously, and can work well with others.
City administrators/managers cannot be voted out, either, if the citizens do not like their agenda, like Roy says above.