And the Search Begins...

I know this may be old news, but I still wanted to post on it and I just haven't had the time to do it.

As many of you know, there was a group of people (myself included) that met and discussed the possibility of a petition drive to get a referendum question on the ballot to change the form of government. I wasn't convinced that a Mayoral form of government was right for Oshkosh. I liked the idea of being able to select a leader based on qualifications on a nationwide search. I didn't like the idea of a Mayor selected by "popularity contest" running the city.

During that first meeting, my mind was changed. There was an idea pitched out by Stephen Hintz that seemed to have merit. He said that this city could function by having a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. The Mayor would be elected. His/Her deputy would be hired. Selected by the Mayor and approved by the council, the deputy would be running the day to day operations of the city. The Mayor would have authority over the city, the deputy would have significant input to the Mayor.

This is a poorly written, rough look at the alternate form of government (lack of time). There would have been much more involved if we could have been more organized. Getting 4000 signatures is no small task and two months to collect them would be a challenge. Having less than two months would be near impossible.

Could this city ever entertain the idea of having a full time Mayor rather than a City Manager? Why can't the council at least ask the question? Putting an advisory question on the ballot would be one way to do it. As long as we don't get too deep in the weeds with the question, there shouldn't be a problem. But instead, they are choosing to move forward with the search for a new manager. Is this really the direction we want our council to go?

What do you think?