Online Poll: Should Cheyenne Consider A City Administrator?

In November of 2015, Cheyenne voters rejected a proposal to change Cheyenne's city government from a strong mayor/council form to one featuring a city administrator who would make most day-to-day governmental decisions.

The margin was not close, with the proposal losing by an almost 2-1 margin. But recently the issue has come up again, with Mayor Marian Orr telling council members in a memo that if they wanted to put the issue before voters a second time, she would support that effort.

So, is this an idea we should consider? Supporters generally argue that a city administrator would ''take the politics" out of city government decisions and that Cheyenne city government has become large enough to require the skills of someone with special education and training at its head.

They also argue a trained professional could find ways to make city government more efficient.

But many opponents say ''taking politics" out of decision making really means ignoring public opinion on important issues. They say that such an administrator essentially becomes an unelected dictator, as opposed to a mayor, who can be voted out of office. It's also worth noting that while the issue was put to a public vote last time, the Cheyenne City Council could actually change the city government to one run by a city administrator without a vote.

They also worry about adding the cost of a city administrator's salary to the city budget.

So, what do you think?

Is it time to change Cheyenne's form of city government? We'll publish the results of our survey on Monday, Sept. 16.