Petitioners cheer, council members lament Sheridan vote
LISA BISBEE Star-Tribune correspondent | Posted: Saturday, March 1, 2008 12:00 am
SHERIDAN - Since the City Council approved an ordinance to hire a city administrator, Joyce Erpelding has been hard at work.
Along with several others, Erpelding went door to door circulating a petition in an attempt to allow the city administrator ordinance to be voted on during a special city election. And when more than 1,000 people signed the petition and a special election was on the horizon, she wrote letters to the editor, talked on radio shows and helped with public meetings.
So, when voters decided Thursday that a city administrator would not be part of Sheridan's city government, Erpelding was pleased all the work was worth the effort.
"I think a lot of people were interested in having a say," she said. "That's why they signed the petition to start out with. They wanted to have a say."
More than 2,000 people voted on the measure Thursday. It failed by 134 votes, City Clerk Art Elkins said.
While the turnout was less than 33 percent of registered city residents, it was more than some expected for a special election.
City residents requested the special election through the petition shortly after the City Council approved creating the position in October. A city administrator handles a city's technical and day-to-day operations, which frees up the mayor to handle policy and planning issues.
That's one reason John Patton, co-chairman of the Committee for a Healthy and Responsible Government, said he is disappointed in the outcome of the election. Patton said adding a city administrator would have given Sheridan's elected officials professional support.
"The position would have been a support and an aid to the council and governing body," he said.
During the past few months, the possible creation of a city administrator position had caused great discussion throughout Sheridan. Public meetings, radio programs and newspaper ads were used by those for and against the new position as they tried to reach voters to help them better understand what a city administrator would mean for the community.
Those against the ordinance said they wanted an elected mayor running the city day to day instead of an unelected, hired administrator. Those for the position thought a city administrator would provide more professional day-to-day management.
Council member Robert Webster said the council didn't make the decision to add a city administrator without a lot of discussion and public input. Several public meetings were conducted, and the City Council also talked to several officials and city administrators from communities across the state that currently use a similar approach to run their cities.
In the end, Webster said, adding a city administrator made the most sense.
"There was a great deal of input from the community and from those who have city administrators," he said.
Disappointed by the outcome of the election, Council member Mona Hansen said she feels that some of the administrative duties do need to be spread out instead of all falling on Mayor Dave Kinskey. Hansen said she is unsure if the council will reintroduce the ordinance.
"I don't know what we're going to do. As a body we haven't talked about it," Hansen said.
With the special election over, Erpelding said she is glad to see that the people of Sheridan were able to have a say in their government.
"I think it was a very good thing that people had an opportunity to express their opinions," she said. "When you live in a democracy, that's what you should get."