Why I support charter change

It seems to me that the new charter discussion boils down to whether Saratoga’s citizens are desperately clutching onto the past or joyfully embracing the future. Saratoga Springs is a wonderful city. My wife and I moved to Saratoga almost 5 years ago and love SPAC, Skidmore, and our wonderful downtown. But what I’ve learned over the last several months of debate, information, and misinformation is that very little of Saratoga’s success belongs to its form of government.

This same form of government presided over Saratoga’s decline in the 1960s and 1970s. Individual citizens, not the government, took the initiative to rebuild and restore the city. Its record on accomplishments over the last 10 years is pretty awful. I can point to the lack of a City Center parking garage, 13 years to get close to the Geyser Road trail (what progress there is comes from some amazing citizen advocacy), and no action on a new EMS facility. Water pressure for our hydrants is a chronic issue. I am thankful that my exposure to City Council meetings is limited. The lack of civility is often shocking (watch some of the videos). The exchanges with Charter Commission members did not present the kind of civil discourse I want from my elected leaders.

Many of these characteristics, though, I have learned, are inherent in the commission form of government. The commission government approach was never really popular and in the early 1900s quickly fell into disfavor, because it was inefficient and cumbersome. Commissioners report to no one – not the mayor, not each other. They have no incentive to cooperate and one commissioner gets added budget only at the expense of another commissioner. They operate without checks and balances, because they act as both legislators and administrators. Elections could be considered the ultimate check and balance. But this year, three commissioners are running unopposed, so it doesn’t matter if they did well or poorly. There is no check and balance possible.

The council-manager approach allows citizens to be legislators and allows the professionals to manage the work. We want our legislators to be drawn from all our citizens, not from a narrowly defined elite. A recent survey said that almost 10 times more people would be interested in running for City Council office, if we switched to the council-manager approach. We’ve had pitifully few women in city government during the last 100 years. That same survey said that the new government form would help fix that issue also.

So I stand with the new charter advocates. We are in good company — over 3,500 cities have adopted the Council-Manager approach to government. There are only six cities left with Commission governments in the entire U.S. (two in New York State — Saratoga and Mechanicville). I want our city to maintain its reputation and continue to be a great place to live. This future can’t be left to luck. We need to bring professionalism to our government administration under the direction of our elected City Council. Let’s embrace an exciting future together. Mark Pingel Saratoga Springs Ready for new form of gov’t Let the record show, I’m ready for change in our city’s form of government, a fundamental change for the better.

The proposed new City Charter offers our city a unique opportunity to vastly improve the way city business is conducted and in the way residents and taxpayers are represented. The new City Charter proposal recognizes and utilizes what already exists in the way of a strong and qualified management staff within city government. This along with a new Operations Manager will represent the city’s new management team charged with the responsibility for carrying out city policy and overseeing the day-to-day administration of city government operations.

The current five member council will be replaced with a seven member City Council including the mayor, who will serve as the council’s presiding officer with certain defined powers and responsibilities. A new highly qualified Operations Manager will be responsible for working with the City Council and assume responsibility for direct supervision, coordination and administration of all city departments.

Missing from the new form of government will be the political drama and vitriolic sideshow that has been commonplace at the bi-weekly meetings of the City Council. What we’ve witnessed in recent years is the politics of self-preservation among City Council members who spend more time at the council table doing personal politics than doing the city’s business. Missing will be the deal-making among City Commissioners in exchange for bad public policy, the giveaways and breaks granted to their friends in order to curry favor, not because it makes good sense for the city or its taxpayers, but just because they can, within the conflicting power of their office.

Our current system of government is broken and favors the privileged few, many of whom can not resist the campaign scare tactics of higher taxes, re-assessment and unelected managers; all in order to keep their grip on City Hall. In this election, and in response to those who choose to play the politics of fear against charter revision, I say: where was their call for accountability and concern for the taxpayer when the commissioner of public works was, for two years, giving the store away to the tune of millions of dollars in waived or forgiven water connection fees and then in-effect passing the bill on to city water ratepayers? Their silence was deafening!

Yes, it’s time Saratoga for a major course correction that will bring professionalism, real accountability and a new sense of citizen participation in your local government. On Nov. 7, Vote “Yes” for a new City Charter. Our city will be better served for it. William J. McTygue Former Director of Public Works (Retired) Saratoga Springs