Political power play in Palmer: So who runs the city?

PALMER — If too many cooks spoil the soup, will too many administrators spoil local government?

That’s the question Palmer City Council is being asked to consider tonight when it votes on a motion to reduce the office of mayor from being a full-time job to part-time support.

Since the hiring of former Mat-Su Borough Assembly member Bill Allen as full-time city manager, it doesn’t make sense for Mayor John Combs to also be the city’s full-time top administrator, said Ken Erbey, a Palmer City Council member and supporter of the ordinance.

“We tried making the mayor a full-time position, but I don’t think it succeeded in its intentions,” Erbey said, adding that while he is sponsoring the ordinance with fellow council member Tony Pippel, he wasn’t always opposed to the strong mayor system.

In addition to reducing the mayor’s pay by $25,000 a year, from $45,000 to $20,000, the ordinance removes language from the city’s municipal code that establishes the mayor as spokesperson and ceremonial representative for the city.

When the position of mayor was elevated to full-time about two years ago, it was with the intention that the extra time could increase lobbying efforts on behalf of the city, Erby said. With a lack of lobbied monies coming into Palmer, it doesn’t make fiscal sense to retain a full-time mayor when there is also a city manager on board to run the day-to-day operations of the city.

“I’m not seeing the bang for the buck,” Erbey said.

“Here in Palmer, it’s the city manager that takes the ball and runs with it,” added Mike Chmielewski, who was elected to the Palmer City Council in October.

There are many types of city government, but the current structure of government in Palmer is rare, Chmielewski said. It is uncommon for a city the size of Palmer to have both a full-time manager and full-time mayor.

“It appears to me that this was more of an experiment than anything else,” he said.

Combs said he does not support the ordinance, and not because it calls for a reduction of his pay. “It’s the [reducing of] duties of mayor that’s most alarming,” Combs said.

City residents could become confused about who is running the city and how it’s managed, he said.

The most pressing issue the ordinance addresses is one of clarity, Chmielewski said. It is important residents understand the difference of duties between the city manager and mayor. While the city manager controls administrative decisions, the mayor is a council member who represents the city.

The Palmer City Council will discuss the ordinance tonight during its regular council meeting. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Palmer City Hall..