Several light years ago (actually sometime during the early 1990s), I remember watching the local public television channel and seeing a quirky, weird, but hilarious series of BBC-produced shows called “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The satiric science fiction production, which later became a popular book written by Douglas Adams, tells the story of an English gent named Arthur Dent and his travels through a strangely-inhabited galaxy with his new pal Ford Prefect and a unrelentingly morose robot. The innocent Arthur Dent begins this unplanned adventure through the universe as he is mysteriously grabbed from the Earth just moments before a cosmic construction team obliterates the planet to build a space freeway. Talk about eminent domain run amok!
In one of my favorite scenes, the story is told of how a group of hyper-intelligent beings long ago decided one day to finally answer the question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Wow! “What’s the meaning of life?” They wanted an answer.
To accomplish this admittedly difficult task, the hyper-intelligent beings built an incredibly powerful computer called Deep Thought. And then they started a computer run to end all computer runs. The computer run lasted 7 ½ million years. As told in “The Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy,” the climactic scene occurs when Arthur Dent, his friend Ford Prefect, and the morose robot arrive just in time to see Deep Thought, a mountainous black computer, finally give the answer to the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. What did Deep Thought come up with after 7 ½ million years of work? A piece of paper scrolls out with the answer. The answer, it said, is 42. Yes, believe it or not, the answer, according to Deep Thought, to the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42. Needless to say, there was a lot of collective head-scratching and disappointment when all the beings in the Universe found out that the answer is 42. I found this bit of satire to be very funny.
Odd as it may seem, there is a strange parallel between the just described scene with Deep Thought and some important questions that are being raised in our little universe right here in Auburn. For instance, what if we, as residents of Auburn, rented a really big truck and set up Deep Thought at the Courthouse parking lot and then asked it to answer the following question: “What is the key to ensuring that our city government is run in the best interest of its residents?” This is certainly not an easy question for an underachieving computer. But, if we instructed Deep Thought to give us a quick and simple answer in 15 minutes rather than 7 ½ million years (just don’t have that kind of time to kill), my prediction is that it might spit out a more reasonable ballpark answer. As it turns out, the short answer is three.
Let me explain why I believe the short answer for our city is three. Over the last four years, I have attended numerous city council meetings and other community meetings in which I have heard a City Council member and other residents (usually a small minority) directly or indirectly blame the City Manager for this or that particular problem. Like Count Dracula or Vlade the Impaler, the City Manager is somehow made out to be the source of all the problems in our town. They seem to be saying that if we could just hire a new City Manager then all would be right with the world. But this conclusion is wrong and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Council-City Manager form of government works.
One doesn’t have to venture very far into the Auburn Municipal Code to learn that a majority of the city council or three of the five members has the power to hire or fire and otherwise direct the City Manager to take certain actions. But the municipal code is quite clear in prohibiting individual council members from giving a direct order to the City Manager or any of his or her subordinates. Otherwise, it would be chaos. The City Manager can only be given instructions to take certain actions at a duly held meeting of the city council. Only when the city council members fail to work together to solve important public problems through the City Manager does the Council-City Manager form of government breakdown and fail.
Ultimately, the City Manager can and should be held accountable by a majority of the City Council. Accountability starts and ends with the members of the City Council. An effective council member, or any member of the public who wants to change policy, will work hard to persuade at least three council members to make such a change in policy. If the council member or member of the public can convince four or all five of the council members to make the change in policy, so much the better.
City Manager Paul Ogden has recently announced his retirement and the Auburn City Council is beginning the process of selecting a replacement. As a new City Manager takes over the reins in November or at a later date, it would be a grand idea if everyone who loves our great town was clear about how the Council-City Manager form of government works and where accountability ultimately resides.
Benjamin Franklin said we have “good citizens, or neighbors capable and worthy of civil society, and the enjoyment of a happy government.” Knowing the key roles and responsibilities of the full council, individual council members, and the City Manager can help us achieve positive change for our town.
Copyright 2002 The Auburn Sentinel