In 2004, Hutto transitioned from a general law city to a home rule city as a result of a charter election. State law allowed that once our city attained a population of 5000 we could exercise this option. One result of that home rule election established the Council-Manager form of government. A frequent misunderstanding about the Council – Manager form of government that is present in most Texas cities is “who does the City Council hire or fire”. For most cities, including Hutto, the City Council’s only hire is the city manager position. Similar to a chief executive officer (CEO) position with a business, the City Manager manages the daily operations of the organization and is provided the ability to hire, discipline or fire employees of the City of Hutto in order to achieve the direction set forth by the Council. This authority is shared downward to the supervisors of the organization, but the final authority for hiring or firing ends with the city manager. It is the role of the City Council to provide direction to the City Manager and hire, coach, evaluate, discipline or fire this position when necessary.
The relationship between the City Manager and the City Council is similar to that of a board of directors and a CEO. As municipal government moved from being organized on political favoritism to running more like a business over the past century, the organizational structure changed accordingly. Instead of positions within the city organization being selected for political reasons, positions are filled in the organization based on qualifications and experience.
An important component of the City Council and City Manager interaction is open communication and keeping the Council informed about the City’s operations. The Council receives regular updates from the City Manager on the activities of the City and major personnel issues. This allows the City Manager to get feedback from members of the Council and the Council to have confidence in the work of the City Manager and City staff.
As to how the Council establishes the direction for the City, this is a blog in itself. We’ll get more into our 2030 Strategic Guide in future blogs this year.
