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Sarasota News Leader October 19, 2012 OPINION READER URGES SUPPORT FOR CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT GIVING MORE POWER TO THE CITY MANAGER The purpose of my letter is urge support for a Yes vote on the City of Sarasota charter amendment on Nov. 6 titled, Split Office Of City Auditor And Clerk Into City Auditor And A New City Clerk. A Yes vote will fix a dysfunctional aspect of our current Sarasota city government, which divides responsibilities between the city au- ditor/clerk and the city manager. CEOs and business leaders of corporations and busi- nesses would not tolerate this kind of division of senior level responsibilities in their own op- erations. They would recognize that it creates a dysfunctional management structure. In my personal experience as a senior level public administrator, I know you cannot share critical responsibilities with other people. It is a recipe for strife, power struggles, inefficien- cies and conspiracies. The city manager needs to be given the au- thority over operations that allow for effective and efficient governance with advice, consent and oversight from the elected city commis- sioners. This amendment accomplishes that task. This amendment also makes the city auditor a charter official and provides for a professional auditor to maintain the checks, balances and oversight that Sarasota needs. The position must be transformed into a more professional one, and it must be independent of city man- agement. This charter amendment accom- plishes that task. This amendment makes a lot of sense. It pro- vides an organizational framework that would improve the operations and management of the city's affairs. Roger J. Barry Professor emeritus University of Cincinnati School of Planning Sarasota Editor's note: The City of Sarasota's auditor and clerk already is a charter official. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone number of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Letters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other factors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader. The Sarasota News Leader welcomes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no Page 67