MUKILTEO — This city may soon be run in a different manner.
On Monday, City Council members will hold a work session to get an idea of what that might mean for them.
It will begin at 6 p.m. in City Hall at 11930 Cyrus Way.
In Mukilteo, the mayoral position is currently a full-time job. The person serves as the city’s CEO and is responsible for hiring a city administrator.
A measure on the Nov. 5 ballot asks voters if they want to change from this strong-mayor structure to one in which a city manager, hired by the City Council, oversees the city’s day-to-day operation.
If the measure passes, residents would no longer directly elect a mayor. Instead, the seven council members would choose one of their own to serve in the job. The change in governance would take effect the day the election is certified in late November.
Some 50 other cities and towns in Washington have manager-council governments, including Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell and Granite Falls. The city of Snohomish went the other direction when voters in 2016, by a narrow margin, went from a manager-council to a strong-mayor system.
The purpose of Monday’s work session is to hear about the experiences of other communities run by council-manager governments, and to find out what city managers are earning these days.
Tracy Burrows, executive director of MRSC, plans a presentation on the different forms of municipal government in the state and the timing of a transition to a council-manager form of government, should the measure prevail. MRSC, also known as the Municipal Research and Services Center, tracks issues involving local governments.
Scott Hugill, city manager of Mountlake Terrace, will discuss how it works on a day-to-day basis. Hugill is a 15-year employee of the city, the past three as its city manager.
As to the costs, the council will receive a report showing salaries paid to city managers in 10 Western Washington cities with a comparable population to Mukilteo.
The salaries range from $151,008 paid in Mountlake Terrace to $207,156 paid in Mercer Island.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos
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