With the selection of a new city manager for the City of Summerville in the news the question comes up, “Why does Summerville need a city manager?”.  The questions comes up just about every time the city has to select someone to fill the position.  The short answer is – because the charter given by the State of Georgia for Summerville to exist as a city requires a city manager.

In Georgia, all cities and towns receive a charter from the state legislature.  That’s what gives them their legal authority.  That charter establishes the boundaries of the municipality and determines what form of government the municipality will have.  There are three forms of municipal government in Georgia: the strong mayor–council form, the weak mayor–council form, or the council-manager form.

Under both the strong and the weak mayor–council forms, executive and policy-making roles and responsibilities are divided between the mayor and the city council. Under the council-manager form, the city council fills the primary policy-making role, and an appointed city manager is responsible for the primary executive functions.

Summerville was established as the county seat for Chattooga County by the Georgia General Assembly in 1839 and was incorporated in 1897.  The charter has been updated several times over the past 100 years.  While it is not impossible for the city’s form of government to change, it is unlikely as it would require a compelling reason for the state legislature to make that change.