City administrator an unnecessary job

The search for a new McMinnville city administrator has come down to this ? two people I?ve never heard of, who come from places I?ve never heard of.

A look at the two finalists reveals in one corner there is a Mr. David Rutherford from Springfield, Ga. I?ve heard of Springfield, Ill., but I never knew there was a Springfield, Ga.

In the other corner we have Mr. David Jukabiak from Jupiter, Fla. I?ve heard of Jupiter before ? as in the largest planet in our solar system ? but I never knew it was also a town in Florida.

Let me start by saying I know nothing about either candidate. Optimist that I am, I?m sure both are nice men who would do their best to serve McMinnville and its residents. Perhaps they are known far and wide as two of the best city administrator applicants in all the land.

Perhaps.

Here?s the part where I have to disrupt our happy little story and reassert my belief that McMinnville would be better served by a full-time mayor and no city administrator. That?s right, eliminate the city administrator job completely.

Instead, let the city of McMinnville?s top position be elected by the people. And here?s the key. To run for the job of McMinnville mayor, you would have to be a McMinnville resident. Ahhh, the beauty of such a plan.

As it stands now, we have a part-time mayor with a part-time salary. There?s also a full-time city administrator with a full-time salary. My grand idea is to combine the two jobs into one.

If nothing else it would eliminate the controversy of six city aldermen turning on the city administrator and ousting him from the job. It would eliminate the need to keep the city administrator on the city payroll as a ?consultant? for three months after he?s gone. And for those of you keeping track at home, that little maneuver came with an over $20,000 pricetag.

With my revolutionary new plan, the city?s top dog would face the ultimate job evaluation every four years ? an election. There?s no messy breakup and no backstabbing. And every voter in McMinnville has equal say in the decision.

This stance is not intended as a slap in the face to David Rutherford and David Jukabiak. I don?t know either man and I don?t have a clue how to pronounce Jukabiak. It?s not like I have a grudge against these guys.

However, I firmly believe when it comes to leadership positions in this community, we need local people filling the jobs. It stands to reason that local residents who have lived here for years care about McMinnville and Warren County more than someone from Jupiter, Fla., who needs directions on how to get here.

Since I?m in the business of speculating, I?d venture to guess McMinnville?s city administrator job is just a stepping stone for Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Jukabiak. They are probably looking at this job as something to do for three or four years and then they?ll be off to a slightly larger town to earn a slightly larger salary. It doesn?t do much for a person?s accountability when they can start fires other people are forced to extinguish when they?re gone.

In our county government, the 24 commissioners don?t select a county executive from Florida or Georgia. The county executive is elected by the people.

While it pains me to suggest any entity should imitate Warren County government, the city of McMinnville would be better served by a full-time mayor who is elected every four years and no city administrator.

James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or be e-mail at [email protected].