"We really feel that in trying to run a government where you have an elected official who may or may not have management skills, that it really does make good sense to have a skilled professional to run the city," he said.
Although the council made a decision on the city manager issue, now it must face another challenge - figuring out whether to pass legislation that would allow a $50,000 raise for the next mayor, as recommended by the Council Compensation Commission.
The commission is suggesting a $120,000 salary for the next mayor's four-year term. Moyer is serving her second and final term, and the new mayor will take office in December after an election is held.
Aldermen should be paid $18,500, plus $1,500 a year for education and training, and $1,000 reimbursable allowance for "basic expenditures necessary to carry out professional duties and services to constituents," the commission recommended.
Although several people have spoken against the mayoral raise, noting a poor economy, the commission defended its recommendations at Monday's meeting.
"We see this position as one of stature and one of competitiveness - one of talent," said J. Elizabeth Garraway, commission chair. Garraway and the five other members voted unanimously for the changes.
"We are sensitive to those who can not, do not, have the compensation they need to survive," Garraway told the council. "These conditions, however, do not mitigate the need for effective leadership.
"We really endeavor to serve the public interest with the change."
In making its recommendations, the commission considered cost-of-living adjustments, compensation for those in similar positions in other cities and in the private sector, and the mayor's responsibilities.
"Moreover, the commission holds that the '... modest and incremental' approach employed by the last commission in recommending a salary for the mayor, has eroded the mayor's salary in constant dollars, and, perhaps inadvertently, contributed to past and current salary inequities that need to be rectified," the commission wrote in a briefing to the council.
Despite such arguments, some, including Ward 7 Alderman Sam Shropshire, say a $50,000 raise for the mayor is excessive.
"In better times we can certainly reconsider an increase in salary for the mayor," Shropshire wrote in a statement. "But at this point in history, when businesses are closing and our people are suffering, this is nothing but wrong."
