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17
Oct 2007
Fault isn’t form of government
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 4:01 PM | Comments
Here we go again.
The recent announcement of the resignation of Joyce Parker, Inkster city manager, and the city economic development director will probably bring back a debate about the form of government in that city.
In the past, members of the city council have tossed around the possibility of changing from a city manager form of government to a strong mayor form of government. Current Mayor Hilliard Hampton has been a strong proponent of this, claiming it will help economic development efforts to have someone in charge who is dedicated to improving the city.
That issue was included in the charter revisions rejected by Inkster voters. It was the main reason why this newspaper didn’t endorse the revisions, as well.
It’s true, too. The city will best be served by someone who is dedicated to improving the city. It will also best be served by someone with the background to pull it off, and an elected mayor doesn’t ensure that. It’s important to remember that the city management form of government is successful in nearly every community where it’s used, too.
Even so, the debate is always a good thing, because it can illuminate different ways to improve the city. It gets the discussion going about what characteristics the council—or whomever ends up leading the search—should look for in their next top city official.
The form of government, though, isn’t to blame for and perceived lack of progress in the City of Inkster. The economy itself is more to blame than anything. There’s more needed to help the situation than a cheerleader—no matter where the cheerleader lives.
Besides, there’s always the possibility that this underlying friction could be one of the causes for Parker’s departure.
I was sad to hear of Parker’s announcement when she dropped by recently. She has had her issues to overcome while in office—what administrator hasn’t—but I think she has done a good job since she came on board. She was certainly a much better choice than Bob Gordon, whom she replaced.
Inkster has taken some positive steps—the most visible of which is the new city hall—and more developments are in the works. There’s certainly no debating that.
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