Advantages and disadvantages of commissions

Answer 1

Advantages

DisadvantagesWeak Mayor• Long historical tradition • Power and responsibility diffused• Elected representative council to meet constituents'

needs • Lack of strong leadership

• Has worked well in small and rural localities• Political vacuum may lead to "bossism" and "machine"

politics

Strong Mayor• Strong leadership with centralized responsibility • Too much responsibility for one person• Facilitates policy formulation and implementation• Mayor may not be a professional administrator

Council-Manager• Professional manager in charge of managing city• No strong, effective political leadership• Council retains policy control • Tendency for manager to usurp policy making functions• City run in business-like manner

• Manager may be a stranger to the city, seeking only to

advance his or her own career

Commission• Has worked well in emergency situations• Legislative and policy functions held by one body• Simple organizational structure• No checks and balances• Swift direct implementation of policy• No one person with overall administrative responsibility

• Difficult to elect legislators with administrative abilities

Town Meeting/Representative Town Meeting• "Purest" form of democracy • Difficult to do long-range planning• Allows all voters a say in how town is run• Challenging to educate all citizens adequately• Deep historical tradition• Preparing announce of meeting may be cumbersome

process• Has worked well in small localities• Annual meetings poorly attended