FAQs • Sterling Heights, MI • CivicEngage

What is ICMA?: ICMA has been the professional and education organization for administrators and assistant administrators serving cities, towns, counties other local governments and regional entities around the world. The purpose of ICMA is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional local government management worldwide.

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About Your Government

1. Do managers participate in local politics?: All managers who belong to ICMA are bound by its Code of Ethics, which states that every member of the Association shall refrain from all political activities that undermine public confidence in professional administrators and refrain from participation in the election of members of employing legislative body.

2. How many Americans live in communities that operate under council-manager government?: More than 89 million Americans live in communities that operate under council-manager government.

3. Is the form popular in large communities?: Yes. Out of 237 cities with greater than 100,000 residents, 141 use this form of government. In addition to Sterling Heights, other major cities using the council-manager system include:

Charlotte, NC
Dallas, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Oklahoma City, OK
Phoenix, AZ
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA.

4. Is this council-manager form of government used only in certain kinds of cities?: No. More than 3,400 cities operate under this form.

5. What else does ICMA’s Code of Ethics cover?: The Code specifies 12 ethical principles of personal and professional conduct, including dedication to the cause of good government. ICMA members believe in the effectiveness of representative democracy and the value of government services provided equitably to residents within a community. ICMA members also are committed to standards of honesty and integrity more vigorous than those required by the law.

6. What is ICMA?: ICMA has been the professional and education organization for administrators and assistant administrators serving cities, towns, counties other local governments and regional entities around the world. The purpose of ICMA is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional local government management worldwide.

7. What is the history of the council-manager form?: Born out of the progressive reform movement at the beginning of the 20th century, the council-manager system of local government is one of the few original American contributions to political theory. In 1908, Staunton, VA instituted the first position legally defining, by ordinance, the board authority and responsibility associated with today’s professional local government manager. Sumter, SC was the first city to adopt a charter incorporating the basic principles of council-manager in 1929. Westmount, Quebec, introduced the form to Canada in 1913. The first large city to adopt the plan was Dayton, OH, in 1914. The first counties to adopt it is in the 1930s were Arlington County,VA and Durham County and Robeson County, NC.

Since its establishment, the council-manager form has become the most popular form of government in the United State in communities with populations of 5,000 or greater. The form is also popular in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Honduras, Chile and Brazil. For more than 94 years, council-manager government has responded to the changing needs of citizens and their communities.

8. Where do managers get their experience?: Nearly 73% of managers surveyed by the International City / County Management Association (ICMA) have a master’s or a professional degree. Respondents indicated that they had spent an average of 17 years in the local government management profession.