Carl Vinson Institute presents forms of government; committee leans toward professional manager model

Dr. Facer of the Carl Vinson Institute told the Charter Review Committee that the institute was presenting “examples” of different government structures and not proposing a specific model. “These are simply examples to give kind of broad boundaries,” he said, noting that multi-member commissions and professional managers are common in larger, consolidated governments.

Facer explained that a sole-commissioner model exists but is generally used in very small governments and that most Georgia consolidated governments use larger commissions. He described a “pure commission” model where commissioners directly oversee departments but noted professionals increasingly prefer a manager to handle day-to-day operations in larger municipalities.

Committee members discussed trade-offs. Miss Robinson and others said public input and prior hearings have tended to favor a manager model. Miss Bacchus asked how a manager alters communications between commissioners and department heads; Facer replied the standard practice is for commissioners to bring issues to the manager, who then coordinates with department heads to avoid direct bypassing of management. Coach Bryant and others asked for examples showing how a manager model operates in practice and how a recommendation would move from the committee to state lawmakers and, potentially, to a public referendum.

Several members raised additional topics for further research: whether larger municipalities are moving to full-time commissioners (Gwinnett County was cited), compensation and office space for commissioners, and how local governments balance commissioner access with managerial authority. Dr. Facer said the institute will provide more materials and research to the subcommittee on forms of government and a process chart explaining next steps.

Ending: The committee did not adopt a final structure. Members requested additional research from the Carl Vinson Institute, including comparative examples, a process flowchart for implementation, and information about full-time versus part-time commissioner models.