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as a global economy, as far as competing. We're in to exporting; we're in to importing; <br />• we're in to E-commerce. We're in to visitor industry things that are on a different level. <br />We're building a $5 million research facility to improve our agricultural products. <br />There's a different level of expertise needed, and that's why I would like to continue the <br />discussion on County Manager, and see how we could make the process work better. <br />And I'm not criticizing the present process because I think it's worked really well, but I <br />think we've had some disasters in the past, and we're perfectly capable of electing one <br />of those disasters again. <br />RAY: Gary, you brought up earlier, the underlying issue of a strong <br />mayor versus strong council form of government. I think we need to decide that. Do <br />we want to move away from the strong mayor form of government? <br />SANTANGELO: I'd like to make a couple of comments on that. One of them is <br />when I looked at this County/City Manager versus Mayor, I felt, if anything, we could <br />do is lay more background and, possibly, punt to the next Commission. And the reason <br />I think that is when I looked at the strong mayor and weak council concept when I was <br />on the Council, of course I struggled against that, but looking at it administratively, how <br />I run my business, the decisions that have to be made really do impact services on the <br />island, I don't have as much problem with the strong mayor concept at this time. The <br />thing that I'm looking forward to that would be interesting to hear from other <br />Commissioners, is going into this complex world that Marni has described, and how <br />we're moving, and the paradigms that are changing so quickly, would it now be <br />possible on this island, that we would have smaller forms of government? And having <br />the present form of government possibly take that Managing Director, which has been <br />proposed, and try to strengthen that, but also starting to lay groundwork for what may <br />not be changed, this City Manager situation, but would we possibly have cities, or is it <br />.always going to be a County? Is this growth and the changes going to incorporate <br />smaller political subdivisions? And that's something that interests me. It'snot <br />something that we need to deal with here. So, 1, kind of, speak in favor of dropping the <br />City Manager type of thing, look at how we can do a better job in steps and prepare for <br />the next Commission. <br />RAY: Marni, I understand your advocacy, and I think we all share that in <br />terms of more professionalism in terms of management of the County, but what model <br />do you see in terms of this position vis-a-vis the Mayor and the Council? I think <br />fundamentally, we need to answer that. Is this somebody that would be hired by the <br />Council and basically, the Mayor would then be more the Council chair, or would be <br />considerably less - certainly wouldn't be the CEO of the County. Is that what you <br />envisioned, so that we basically do away with the strong mayor form of government? Is <br />that what you're suggesting? <br />HERKES: I like the Lexington model that we did first where the top vote getter <br />is the head of the Council and the Mayor, and then the Council manages the <br />IDgovernment and, with that person, they hire the Managing Director who is a <br />3 <br />