WARNER ROBINS -- After considering residents’ feedback, City Council is moving away from an idea that would change the Warner Robins charter to create a city manager and make the mayor part time.
Councilman Mike Brashear said Monday that a straw poll of sorts was taken at a town hall meeting he held last week. More than 60 percent of the 20 or so residents in attendance weren’t in favor of adding someone to manage the city’s daily operations, he said. That role currently falls to the mayor.
“The council felt that was a good enough showing that we didn’t want to go with” the idea, Brashear said.
When Brashear presented the idea at the town hall meeting, Councilwoman Carolyn Robbins and Councilman Mike Daley helped him explain the reasoning for wanting a city manager. The city could run more efficiently if a trained person were in were that job, council members said.
At the time, Brashear said to expect public hearings on the topic this week and next. Those are no longer happening.
Neither Daley nor Robbins returned calls for comment Monday.
Councilmen Mike Davis and Daron Lee said last week they weren’t in favor of changing the city’s charter, which would require a vote of the state Legislature.
Mayor Chuck Shaheen had said he was in favor of a professional daily operations manager, but he wanted one who would be part of the mayor’s staff instead of taking over the mayor’s chief executive officer role.
To contact writer Christina M. Wright, call 256-9685.
