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WHAT DOES A CITY MANAGER DO?
The City of Wood Dale follows the Manager Form of government. Under the Manager Form, the Council’s power is legislative, with the exception that it is empowered to approve all expenses and liabilities of the municipality. The Manager is appointed for an indefinite term, but may be removed at any time by a majority vote of the members of the Council. The City Manager position is filled by an individual with a wide array of experience within municipal government as well as the appropriate educational background.
The City Manager is the city's chief administrator and is responsible for seeing that city government is run efficiently and economically. The City Manager serves and advises the Mayor and City Council, appoints all department heads, and prepares a proposed annual budget for Council consideration. The Manager also enforces municipal laws and ordinances and coordinates city operations and programs.
The City Manager's Office provides professional staff support services to the City Council and its committee meetings, and coordinates the development and analysis of policy recommendations presented to the Mayor and City Council. The City Manager interacts on a daily basis with the city's Executive Team, consisting of the City Manager's Office administrative staff and department directors.
An important tool for both the Manager and Council is the City Strategic Plan, a working document used by the Mayor and Council and City Staff to prioritize the needs of Wood Dale.
The Strategic Plan plays an important role in the budgetary process by helping the City Staff to better focus resources on Mayor and Council priorities. Each budget cycle, the governing body adjusts the plan to more fully reflect the updated priorities of the Mayor and Council members.
Specific strategies are then adopted within each focus area. While these areas do not represent the full work of the City, they establish which projects will be of a critical or priority nature within any given year.
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