Rochester’s Charter outlines both the specific duties of the mayor and council
Norton
Joe Ahlquist / Post Bulletin
Rochester Mayor Kim Norton speaks during the “State of the City” event Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
Rochester Mayor Kim Norton speaks during the “State of the City” event Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
Understanding who does what in our city government is important if you want to impact the decisionmaking process.
Rochester’s City Home Rule Charter, drafted in 1904, is the document that spells out the responsibilities and powers of the mayor and city council. In this column, I will describe how the Charter defines the mayor’s authority and responsibilities, and how that language has been interpreted and put into practice.
Many in our city mistakenly believe that the mayor has far more authority than our city’s Charter and historic practices designate – perhaps something that could change in the future given our growth and if the community desires.
In reality, Rochester’s Charter establishes what is referred to as a “weak mayor” system. This structure differs significantly from other cities where the mayor chairs the city council meetings and has a vote, or where the mayor serves as the city’s lead administrator.
Rochester’s Charter provides neither of those options for the mayor.
Our mayor is not entitled to vote on the city’s budget, taxation or policy decisions.
Instead, our Charter defines the mayor as the “chief magistrate or executive officer of the city” with “general supervision and control over all officers and departments of the city.” It also states that “The mayor shall from time to time give the common council such information and recommend such measures as the mayor shall deem advantageous to the city.”
Notably, Rochester’s mayor and city council president are the only city officials elected “at-large” (by every resident).
Although the mayor is elected by people throughout the entire city and serves that population rather than a single ward, there is no formal process for ensuring that the mayor’s broad perspective and/or recommendations are used in forming city policy, legislative agenda, or ordinance/law.
The Charter outlines exceptions in which the mayor is granted some administrative authority.
One such power afforded the mayor is to initiate an emergency order, which I exercised during the pandemic, to protect our city’s residents, medically vulnerable visitors and local businesses. The mayor also oversees the Police Department — but that’s for another column.
Rochester’s mayor is also given authority to veto any proposal passed by the council. As a mayor who ran on being more involved in policy making, I have exercised that power just six times when I believed that council and/or administration was not representing the best legal, ethical or financial decision based on resident values and/or the betterment of our community.
You might be surprised to learn how the Charter describes the role of our city administrator, who is hired by the council. Our administrator is to “serve in an advisory and consulting capacity as special assistant to the mayor and council” and “perform such special assignments of work as may be given by the mayor, council, or any standing committee of the council” and “formulate suggested policy and compile supporting data for city projects and matters broader in scope than those affecting individual departments, boards or commissions.”
The Charter states that the administrator should serve as a liaison between the mayor, council, department heads, commissions, boards, other governmental units and civic organizations/ groups. The administrator exercises “such specific authority as the mayor and council may grant, consistent with the charter and ordinances.”
What does this all mean? The Charter clearly sets out the expectation that the city administration and mayor should work together to build a strong foundation for the council, representing the constituents in various parts of the city, to support Rochester’s future.
We continually strive to do that, but may occasionally miss the mark.
Because the role of the mayor is defined as an executive branch position, it makes sense for the mayor to establish a strong partnership and close working relationship with the city administrator and staff, as well as the city council president and members representing wards within the city — and I try to do just that.
When the mayor and city staff work together in the direction-setting process, before taking ideas to the city council for the final decisionmaking, it helps ensure that proposals have the broad perspective of our community for council input and consideration.
The outcomes of our city government are likely to be better when the mayor, staff and council are working together as a team.
Throughout my term as mayor, my goals have focused on building a vibrant, sustainable city with safe neighborhoods and a strong economy for all. I’ve been actively pursuing those goals and will reflect more on them in future columns.
Kim Norton was elected mayor in 2018. She previously served in the Minnesota Legislature for 10 years, and on the Rochester School Board for eight years.
She lives in Rochester with her husband, Randy Stone.
Rochester’s City Home Rule Charter, drafted in 1904, is the document that spells out the responsibilities and powers of the mayor and city council. In this column, I will describe how the Charter defines the mayor’s authority and responsibilities, and how that language has been interpreted and put into practice.
Many in our city mistakenly believe that the mayor has far more authority than our city’s Charter and historic practices designate – perhaps something that could change in the future given our growth and if the community desires.
In reality, Rochester’s Charter establishes what is referred to as a “weak mayor” system. This structure differs significantly from other cities where the mayor chairs the city council meetings and has a vote, or where the mayor serves as the city’s lead administrator.
Rochester’s Charter provides neither of those options for the mayor.
Our mayor is not entitled to vote on the city’s budget, taxation or policy decisions.
Instead, our Charter defines the mayor as the “chief magistrate or executive officer of the city” with “general supervision and control over all officers and departments of the city.” It also states that “The mayor shall from time to time give the common council such information and recommend such measures as the mayor shall deem advantageous to the city.”
Notably, Rochester’s mayor and city council president are the only city officials elected “at-large” (by every resident).
Although the mayor is elected by people throughout the entire city and serves that population rather than a single ward, there is no formal process for ensuring that the mayor’s broad perspective and/or recommendations are used in forming city policy, legislative agenda, or ordinance/law.
The Charter outlines exceptions in which the mayor is granted some administrative authority.
One such power afforded the mayor is to initiate an emergency order, which I exercised during the pandemic, to protect our city’s residents, medically vulnerable visitors and local businesses. The mayor also oversees the Police Department — but that’s for another column.
Rochester’s mayor is also given authority to veto any proposal passed by the council. As a mayor who ran on being more involved in policy making, I have exercised that power just six times when I believed that council and/or administration was not representing the best legal, ethical or financial decision based on resident values and/or the betterment of our community.
You might be surprised to learn how the Charter describes the role of our city administrator, who is hired by the council. Our administrator is to “serve in an advisory and consulting capacity as special assistant to the mayor and council” and “perform such special assignments of work as may be given by the mayor, council, or any standing committee of the council” and “formulate suggested policy and compile supporting data for city projects and matters broader in scope than those affecting individual departments, boards or commissions.”
The Charter states that the administrator should serve as a liaison between the mayor, council, department heads, commissions, boards, other governmental units and civic organizations/ groups. The administrator exercises “such specific authority as the mayor and council may grant, consistent with the charter and ordinances.”
What does this all mean? The Charter clearly sets out the expectation that the city administration and mayor should work together to build a strong foundation for the council, representing the constituents in various parts of the city, to support Rochester’s future.
We continually strive to do that, but may occasionally miss the mark.
Because the role of the mayor is defined as an executive branch position, it makes sense for the mayor to establish a strong partnership and close working relationship with the city administrator and staff, as well as the city council president and members representing wards within the city — and I try to do just that.
When the mayor and city staff work together in the direction-setting process, before taking ideas to the city council for the final decisionmaking, it helps ensure that proposals have the broad perspective of our community for council input and consideration.
The outcomes of our city government are likely to be better when the mayor, staff and council are working together as a team.
Throughout my term as mayor, my goals have focused on building a vibrant, sustainable city with safe neighborhoods and a strong economy for all. I’ve been actively pursuing those goals and will reflect more on them in future columns.
Kim Norton was elected mayor in 2018. She previously served in the Minnesota Legislature for 10 years, and on the Rochester School Board for eight years.
She lives in Rochester with her husband, Randy Stone.