Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992 TAG: 9202130129
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
JUST WHAT DOES THE MAYOR DO?
So you want to be Roanoke's next mayor?You know that Noel Taylor, who has held the job for 16 1/2 years, will retire in June.
You know the job pays $15,000 a year. That's nothing to complain about during a recession when the lines at unemployment centers are getting longer.
So what does the job entail? What does the mayor do? You know he cuts ribbons, makes speeches and appears on television a lot.
But what else?
A main duty is presiding at weekly City Council meetings. The mayor is the one who stands while the other six council members sit. He runs the meetings by parliamentary procedures, making sure that motions and votes are done correctly.
He pounds his gavel to maintain order when council members get into a debate among themselves. Or with the audience.
Sometimes council meetings last only an hour, but more often than not, they last three to four hours.
The mayor, who is a member of council, is entitled to one vote, like the other six members. But unlike the president and the governor, the mayor has no veto power. The majority rules.
The mayor also serves on half a dozen city boards, commissions and committees, many of which meet monthly or more often.
If you are still interested, you should know that you will have competition.
Vice Mayor Howard Musser and Councilman David Bowers, both Democrats, want the post. The Democratic party will choose its nominee at a Feb. 22 mass meeting.
City Republicans may also nominate a mayoral candidate at a Feb. 25 mass meeting. There are no announced candidates for the GOP nomination, but Willis Anderson, a former mayor, is considering running.
Thirty-nine men - no women - have held the mayor's post since the city was incorporated in 1882. Taylor has been mayor longer than anyone else.
The legal duties of the mayor are spelled out in the city charter, a document approved by the General Assembly that outlines the structure of the city government. The duties are fairly brief and straightforward:
The mayor signs contracts, agreements and other legal documents on behalf of the city.
He also serves as the official head for the city for all ceremonial purposes.
He is also the top official for the purposes of litigation and the service of court papers.
The mayor's ceremonial duties get the most public attention.
The mayor has an office on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building next to the City Council Chamber, with a full-time secretary. He also sometimes relies on the city clerk's office for clerical and secretarial help.
The mayor occasionally travels to Washington and Richmond to deal with federal and state issues affecting the city. He also makes out-of-town trips to help recruit businesses and industries.
The mayor has no separate expense or travel account, but $95,000 was budgeted in the current fiscal year for equipment, supplies, travel and other expenditures for all council members.
During emergencies, the mayor, with council's consent, may take command of the police to enforce the laws and maintain order.
Roanoke has a council-manager form of government in which the city manager is the chief administrative officer. The manager appoints department managers such as the police and fire chiefs and other management officials. He and his managers also hire and fire city employees.
Council hires the city manager, who serves at the pleasure of the governing body and can be replaced at any time.
In a strong-mayor system, which some large cities outside Virginia have, the mayor is the top city official and oversees daily operations, including the appointment of department heads.
In Roanoke and most small cities, however, the city charter prohibits the mayor and council members from trying to influence the selection of department heads or other management officials. The mayor has no political patronage to reward his supporters.
The amount of time needed to perform the job's duties can vary, depending on how many ceremonial and speaking invitations are accepted, Taylor said. He has tried to accept most speaking invitations, and that has required him to spend 12 to 16 hours on city business on some days.
Whether the next mayor can operate without more help depends on what council members and city residents want him to do, Taylor said. "If the mayor is just going to preside at council meetings, you can get by without help."
For years, Taylor has also scheduled appointments with citizens one afternoon each week, which is not required. He also has lunch each Friday with City Manager Bob Herbert to review the agenda for the weekly council meetings.
Musser and Bowers say they know the mayor's job requires a lot of time, but they can handle it.
Bowers, a lawyer, said he could balance the mayoral duties with his law practice because the Municipal Building and City Courthouse are across the street from each other.
Musser, a retired finance supervisor for General Electric, is also confident that he could balance the mayoral duties with his work as a real estate agent.
The mayor also makes a state-of-the-city speech to council each August. In structure, it is similar to the president's state-of-the-union speech.
Although the legal duties of the job are limited, the mayor can have enormous influence on city policy and projects that can make the job more important than it is outlined in the city charter.
Taylor has used his conciliatory style and solid support in the business community to help win approval of the city's downtown revitalization project and other economic development programs.
He has used his influence to help keep the city on a pro-growth path even though populist, tax-cutting Democrats have gained a majority of council seats in recent years. He has worked behind the scenes to forge coalitions for projects and programs that stretch from poor black neighborhoods in the city's Northwest quadrant to affluent areas in South Roanoke.
Before 1964, the mayor was chosen by council members. They selected a council member from among themselves to be mayor for a two-year term. That's how Anderson - the Republican who is considering running for mayor - was chosen in 1960.
Three men have held the mayor's post since the city switched to the direct-election method 28 years ago: Benton Dillard, Roy Webber and Taylor.
NOTE: SEE MICROFILM FOR GRAPHIC OF THE MAYOR'S JOB.