Washington law
Mayor-council is a government. Council-manager is a board of directors.
Washington cities use two statutory forms. The names sound similar. The chain of command is not. The whole fight in Camas is whether the person who runs the city answers to the voters or to the council.
Current Camas Mayor / Council / AdministratorWho is the city’s CEO? Who the public can replace Accountability Day-to-day operations The word “mayor” Balance of power |
Proposed Council / Manager / Ceremonial mayorWho is the city’s CEO? Who the public can replace Accountability Day-to-day operations The word “mayor” Balance of power |
Mayor-council Separation of powers, with a political executiveVoters elect a mayor at-large as chief administrative officer and a council as the legislature. The mayor carries out policy, appoints department heads, and in cities (not towns) has a veto the council can override. MRSC’s principles: separation of powers, political leadership, a strong central executive. |
Council-manager A board that hires the CEOVoters elect a council. The council hires a manager to run the government. The “mayor” is a council member with ceremonial duties and no administrative authority. MRSC is explicit: the model is a business board appointing a chief executive, like a school board and superintendent. When something fails, the manager can cite council policy and council can cite operations. That spreading of blame is accountability diffusion. |
Camas is already a hybrid
Like many mayor-council cities, Camas created a city administrator under the mayor — Municipal Code Chapter 2.06. That is how you get professional management without abolishing the executive the public elected. MRSC describes this hybrid as elected leadership plus professional day-to-day operations.
The proposal on the table is not “add a professional.” Camas has one. The proposal is to move hiring and replacement of that professional from the mayor to the council, and to make the mayor a gavel, not a CEO.
As of 2020, 227 of 281 Washington cities used mayor-council — 81 percent of cities, 58 percent of incorporated population.
MRSC: City and Town Forms of Government · Cities that switched, and switched back
A council does not oversee the way a mayor does
A mayor oversees the administrator because that is the mayor’s job. One elected person can give an order and answer for it.
A council does not oversee a manager that way. State law says the opposite. RCW 35A.13.120 forbids the council and its members from directing appointments or giving orders to the manager’s staff. Except to ask questions, they deal with administration only through the manager. What they keep is a board’s power: policy, the budget, and the vote to replace the manager. Between those votes, the professional makes the decisions. That is worse oversight, not the same oversight under a new title.
As of 2020, 227 of 281 Washington cities used mayor-council — 81 percent of cities, 58 percent of incorporated population. It is the oldest and still the most common form in the state, including both small towns and large cities.
MRSC: City and Town Forms of Government · Cities that switched, and switched back