Call it what you will, just get it done
IT WAS THE BARD
himself, William Shakespeare, who said, “That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”
That line from “Romeo and Juliet” could be applied to the recently submitted report from Plymouth’s Ad-Hoc City Administrator Study Committee.
The committee decided to recommend the creation of a director of city services position for Plymouth, saying that a city administrator title for the position “is too misleading, in that it give the impression that this person would be running the city rather directing and facilitating based on objectives given by the council and mayor.”
That may just be a matter of semantics, as a city administrator also ideally serves the same function and in the same role, as an examination of the proposed job description for a director of city services drawn up by the committee shows.
That’s fine. Whatever it takes to sell the position to city officials and the citizenry, however it has to be packaged to make it palatable, it what needs to be done, just so long as the position, long overdue, is added to the city’s table of organization.
The committee did its job diligently, did their homework thoroughly, and reached a thoughtful, rational and right conclusion. A good cross-section of the community, committee members interviewed a number of people who hold similar positions with other governments, locally and throughout the region, studied the available information and heard from people on all sides of the issue before reaching their conclusion. They deserve thanks and appreciation for the time and effort they put into their work.
They recognized that the city, a multi-million dollar enterprise, needs a full-time chief operating officer to ensure that government is functioning efficiently and effectively, giving taxpayers the most bang for their buck.
They also honestly acknowledged that the addition of a director of city services “will be costly,” but also made the case that it will eventually result in operational savings for the city that will more than justify that cost. They also noted that it would help make city government more responsive to the citizenry by “providing a point person for … the citizens.”
The committee has done its work well and provided the city and the City Council the information they need to make this change that should have been made long ago. By our count, this makes three study committees and two outside consultants who have made this same recommendation. The weight of the evidence seems overwhelming.
Just as a rose is a rose is a rose, this position is the same no matter what title it goes by, and the sweetest thing would be to make it happen as soon as possible.
At issue: Something or other Bottom line: Do something about it
