What does the City Manager do?
City of Medicine Hat
Consider a career move to Medicine Hat - where bright ideas shine.
Local governments are not simply providers of municipal services; they are builders and sustainers of communities. I would further contend that they are the framework of our country.
The statement above formed part of the research for my Master’s Degree in Leadership through Royal Roads University (2021). My thesis question: How do we enhance the trust and respect between Municipal Council and CAO or City Managers? This was a cross-Canada study, and there was strong indication that, in general, there is misunderstanding of the City Manager’s role in local government.
The role is laid out in the Municipal Government Act as follows:
207 The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO): (a) Is the administrative head of the municipality; (b) Ensures that the policies and programs of the municipality are implemented; (c) Advises and informs the council on the operation and affairs of the municipality; (d) Performs the duties and functions and exercises the powers assigned by this and other enactments or assigned by council.
Similar to a CEO of a company that reports to a board of directors, the City Manager runs the day-to-day operations of the municipality while reporting to City Council. Once council has set the direction of which programs they would like to provide, it is the City Manager that decides how to implement these services. As the principal advisor to council, the City Manager must be politically astute and understand the community climate as well as the political landscape provincially, federally, and globally. Additionally, the City Manager must maintain relationships with a multitude and variety of vested partners both in the community and through the various levels of government.
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The group StrategyCorp regularly surveys CAOs across Canada. The following is a quote from a recent StrategyCorp CAO Survey: “Despite their diversity, we found that CAOs share a commitment to finding solutions and to building better communities and service-delivery organizations.”
City Managers serve as public servants, collaborating with elected officials to benefit our communities. As a third-generation City Manager, public service is in my DNA, and I am honoured to serve my community every day.
by Ann Mitchell , Medicine Hat City Manager
Chief Administrative Officer at Town of Oliver
7 个月Thanks for the post Ann Mitchell My first municipal role was with the City of Medicine Hat, one of the few, maybe only, municpalities that provides 5 key services on one utility invoice. The more services you provide the bigger the challenge for the City Manager - to understand the economic drivers for each segment and clearly convey that information to Council. To be effective, you need a good team dedicated to their roles with a passion for excellent customer service. Thanks again and all the best!
Connecting people and ideas. On a mission to grow the number of public service leaders who lead with intention and live in alignment with their values
7 个月Thank you for the post. Ann Mitchell, I looked up the research paper and added it to my reading list. It is an area of interest for me. When I did my MRP for the MPA at Western I looked at the leadership competencies of public library CEOs compared to CAOs. I am looking forward to reading your research.
CEO @ Municipal Experts Inc. | Economic Development | Local Government | I love helping communities by developing and implementing the strategies that improve their quality of life and lead to growth.
7 个月So many of my colleagues are in the 'municipal government ' game because they truly believe in service. In many ways, they revel in the fact that their impact is close and something that can be, quite literally seen on the streets everyday through the projects that they have stewarded throughout their careers. Kudos! You should hear more of them for the great work that you do everyday.