Under the strong mayor plan, which supporters want to put on next year's election ballot, the mayor would have control of day-to-day responsibilities. Right now, the unelected city manager handles those duties.
Sacramento Tomorrow, the group pushing the plan, says a strong mayor form of government would help get things done faster at a critical time with a downtown arena in the works. David Nagler with Sacramento Tomorrow appeared on Insight with Beth Ruyak today.
"The mayor would have veto power over legislation and then a specified timetable under which the council could override it. On the budget the mayor would have line-item, so specific item, veto power."
Opponents of the strong mayor plan, such as Kerri Asbury with the Democratic Party of Sacramento County, point out that the mayor would also have the power to hire and fire a city manager.
"And that forms nepotism there in that the city manager would really feel not at liberty to speak against the mayor without risking their job."
After hearing about the strong mayor proposal tonight, council members are expected to decide whether to tell city staff to draft a ballot measure.
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