Does the mayor’s position and oversight, need to be revisited?
The city of Chino does not have any written description for the mayor. The Governmental Code has the description. The governmental code is broadly defined, but has some specifics like signing document, appointing city offices, and council meeting presiding over council meetings, calling special meetings, leader of the council government.
The mayor’s position is neither a job nor career. It is an Office of Government with perpetual existence. It does not depend on the person who may hold the office from time to time. For the person who occupies the Office, it is a position.
I believe that over the decades the mayor’s position has wrongly expanded to include control over many departments of the city that support the mayors personal, religious, and political agenda. We must remember that the mayor’s position is nonpartisan. Essentially, the mayor has control and oversight of the entire city. The mayor appoints at will individuals who protect the mayor’s personal vision, and not necessarily the vision of the city and the needs of all the residents. The position of the mayor is nonpartisan but seems to have progressed into political party agendas and mandates. Leadership for the mayor needs to curtail any personal and political agendas. The mayor’s vision needs to focus on the needs of the residents. The mayor’s position ought to be reviewed to ensure the mayor’s position follows democratic practices in all areas.
The mayor hires individuals with expert knowledge to do their job, yet the mayor and city council direct the experts what to do. That does not make sense.
There needs to be a robust ability to communicate and collaborate on any decisions for the city. It is called shared decision making. In addition, the residents need to be provided a continuous appraisal of projects that the city is working on. In so doing, the communication builds trust with the residents and the employees of the city.