Within the past several weeks, two town managers in Carroll County have announced their resignations.
Terry Short, Manchester's first and long-embattled manager, has resigned. Meanwhile, in Sykesville, much-loved manager James L. Schumacher is leaving in March to operate a consulting business. The timing of these resignations may be coincidental, but the reasons behind the departures of these municipal managers vastly differ.
After almost three years of continual battles with a implacable faction on Manchester's council and a clique of residents, Mr. Short threw in the towel. Many residents considered the professional manager to be an interloper bringing in unwanted changes in town governance. As a result, nearly every routine housekeeping chore -- from acquiring new water meters to debugging the town's balky computer system -- oozed controversy in Manchester.
A sharply divided town council exacerbated Mr. Short's problems. Rather than focusing on developing policies to effectively and efficiently manage the town of 2,800 residents, the council devoted excess energy and time to fighting over Mr. Short. While some residents blame Mr. Short for Manchester's ills and petitioned for his dismissal, Charlotte Collett correctly holds her colleagues in town government responsible: "The big issue is our town council at times does not know how to govern."
For a study in contrast, see Mr. Schumacher's tenure a couple dozen miles to the south in Sykesville, which can be characterized as a lovefest.
Ten years ago, then-mayor Lloyd R. Helt Jr. convinced the council to support the hiring of a town manager. He recruited Mr. Schumacher and turned over to him Sykesville's day-to-day operations. Under Mr. Schumacher's supervision, Sykesville's government for 2,300 residents functioned smoothly.
Ideally, a town manager carries out the policies of the mayor and council and ensures that the town gets maximum return from its taxes. Manchester has yet to commit to professional town management and continues to second-guess its manager. As for Sykesville, by allowing its manager to do his job, the town hall there has operated like a well-oiled machine.