POP’s Proposed Amendment to the City Charter

Marco Island Voters:

I’d like to correct a misconception concerning POP’s proposed amendment to the City Charter. The newspapers incorrectly stated that POP wants the City Manager to be elected by the people instead of being hired by the city council. This is NOT TRUE. POP’s amendment would continue having the City Manager HIRED by the city council as is presently done. The problem lies is in how a HIRED City Manager is terminated or fired from his position. At present, only a vote of four or more councilmembers can fire the HIRED CM, regardless of how badly that individual performs his job. Even if the entire Marco Island population wants him/her removed, they can do nothing about it as long as only four (4) councilmembers believe that their CM “walks on water”. The only recourse left to the people is to hopefully elect a city council that might one day remove that CM. Of course, this could take many years, especially since many elected councilmembers seem to change their positions more often than their underwear. We, the public, are left helpless at the hands of just four councilmembers and one City Manager. Thus, a “gang of five” could conceivably rule our island for years.

POP’s amendment to our City Charter, if you approve it, would continue allowing the city council to hire a city manager as usual. However, every two years after that, the voters will have the right to approve or disapprove that city manager’s job performance. If we approve, life is good for everyone. However, if the people disapprove of his/her job performance, that city manager gets terminated. Simple. This is called “public affirmation” and definitely is NOT an ‘election” or a “popularity vote” a few opponents try to smear it as. It’s a serious job evaluation that every employee, whether a worker or a CEO, undergoes, even if his father owns the business.

Our present city manager, Bill Moss, has publicly stated he will resign if this amendment is passed. Apparently he feels his job performance wouldn’t get a passing grade by the Marco public. Maybe he’s right and maybe not. Remember that this change gives you the right to approve as well as to disapprove. That’s important. Even more interesting is that councilmen Minozzi and Tucker, pillars of the public’s interests, have promised to prevent the people from voting on this amendment. Their notion seems to be that only the council should have the power to fire a city manager and the voting public should stay out of it. Another claim is that there might not be applicants for a job that requires a public vote of confidence every two years. POP feels that such a shaky individual doesn’t belong in Marco’s most powerful office to begin with. Marco Island deserves an administrator that is not frightened of public scrutiny every couple of years.

POP’s proposed amendment, if you approve it, will go a long way to moving the voters back up the city’s order of priorities, perhaps even a bit ahead of the developers, real estate and tourism trades. Right now, given the force-fed sewer scheme, resident’s opinions seem completely irrelevant to the city. POP has spearheaded the effort to give you better control over the direction of Marco Island. The rest is up to you. Amendment petition forms for registered voters are available at POP’s website, PreserveOurParadise.com or call 642-6845. Many thanks.

Russ Colombo, Chairman
Preserve Our Paradise