Chesapeake's liaison system faces scrutiny

CHESAPEAKE

Back in the 1980s, then-Mayor Sid Oman had an idea - allow individual City Council members to act as a link between city departments and the council as a whole.

There weren't, and still aren't, any written rules about liaisons and what they can or can't do. Now, the city is studying its liaison system after a series of issues that have bred tension on the City Council.

"We're faced with a function that's authorized but not well defined," Vice Mayor John de Triquet said. "I don't think it's ever been formally visited, and I think it's a reasonable time to do it."

Other South Hampton Roads cities have similar arrangements. Norfolk has three council committees that deal with specific issues, but no liaison policy. A handful of Suffolk council members act as liaisons to agencies such as the housing authority and Economic Development Authority. Portsmouth and Virginia Beach have council liaisons to some boards and advisory committees, but not to specific departments.

In Chesapeake, however, each council member has eight to 13 liaison assignments, ranging from the Planning and Public Works departments to the Fine Arts Commission and Chesapeake Jubilee.

The mayor appoints council members to liaison posts. The idea is to allow for better communication between city departments and the council, but it hasn't worked out that way at times this year.

Councilwoman Ella Ward, a liaison to the School Board, got upset after Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols went directly to Mayor Alan Krasnoff to ask for $1 million for Indian River High School repairs. Ward said she knew nothing about the request until after the fact.

T he whole system was questioned after Krasnoff said Councilwoman Debbie Ritter, a planning liaison, asked staff members to meet with a developer about changing a voluntary cash offer on an apartment complex proposal.

A four-member committee appointed to study the liaison system has identified a few key issues, such as the boundaries between a council liaison and a city staffer.

De Triquet worried that council liaisons could be viewed as having inside information or a competitive edge by not sharing certain details about a department with the rest of the council. He also is concerned that a liaison's communication with staff can "reduce or truncate the city manager's direct line to his staff."

The committee has discussed requiring city council liaisons to submit brief reports to the rest of the board detailing any meetings with staff members.

Ritter, a member of the committee, said she believes council members should be able to make inquiries or requests of any department, using best judgment when deciding which requests should be funneled through the city manager's office.

Councilman Dwight Parker said he knows what will happen if the liaison system goes away: More questions at much longer council meetings.

"I am not in favor of getting rid of it," he said. "We would be there all night long."

Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com