THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 5, 1995 TAG: 9507050114
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP
CREATING NEW CONVERSATIONS
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Today, we're considering the choices facing the city of Portsmouth, as its city manager of five years, Wayne Orton retires.
Portsmouth, a city of 103,000 in the geographic center of South Hampton Roads, is trying to reshape itself through tourism and economic development. It must deal with a relativity high poverty rate, a large proportion of non-taxable federal land, and the loss of retail sales to surrounding cities in recent years.
While the mayor and city council usually have a higher profile than the city manager, the decisions made by the manager and the city's top staff may affect your daily life more. For instance, they prepare, and heavily influence, the city's annual budget.
As manager, Orton brought Portsmouth back from the brink of financial disaster to a relatively stable footing. Now the city considers its next step. It has drawn up a blueprint for its future, and is striving to achieve that vision without sacrificing its hard-won financial stability.
By law the City Council members, not citizens, choose the city manager. Yet in Portsmouth, the manager's role is unusually public, often discussed and debated in meetings and forums. - Tony Wharton, staff writer ILLUSTRATION: Wayne Orton
What does a city manager do?
The city manager hires and fires most of the city's department heads
and prepares policy decisions for the City Council. The manager also
prepares the city's spending plans; councils usually change little
of what the manager has suggested. Portsmouth's budget this year is
about $120 million.
How are they selected?
The city manager is not elected by residents, but selected by the
seven council members, and serves at their pleasure. The manager
does not have a set term of office.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
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HOW TO REACH US
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KEYWORDS: PUBLIC JOURNALISM by CNB