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Crystal River may operate best without leaders

By GREG HAMILTON
Published February 7, 2005

Crystal River City Hall is in turmoil, with its city manager's continued employment in jeopardy. Just like it was in 1990. And 1991. And 1993. And 1994. And 1995. And 1997. And 1998. And 1999. And 2001. And 2002.

The names of the city managers and council members change, the calendar pages flip over, but one thing remains constant over the years. This small town shows time and again that it is simply incapable of governing itself.

This time, it is City Manager Susan Boyer who is hanging onto her job by a thread. Next week, she will get her chance to defend herself before a City Council whose majority already has voted to fire her.

It will be a lose-lose situation. Even if Boyer prevails, she will know that she does not enjoy the full confidence of her employers. No one would wish to work under those conditions and Boyer is too much of a professional to subject herself to such a hostile work environment.

So, she will follow the well-worn path out of town, with denunciations ringing in her ears.

Some other sacrificial lamb will come along and offer him or herself up for slaughter on the altar of the Crystal River City Council dais. Already, the city is receiving nibbles from interested manager candidates. This line of work attracts its share of people with professional masochistic streaks.

The new person should not sign any long-term leases or a mortgage. Forget about even unpacking suitcases or boxes. In fact, keep the engine running while your car is in the City Hall parking lot.

Because as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, you will be fired. Or forced to quit. Either way, you will be history, whether you make a mistake or not.

The new city manager could be Winston Churchill or Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa, it wouldn't matter. Thomas Jefferson couldn't manage this city. Abe Lincoln would be shown the door.

Every election cycle that changes the makeup of the City Council results in the city manager walking the plank. Boyer probably knew her days were numbered last Election Day.

The thought was that the change to four-year council terms would bring some stability, but that only works if the people being elected keep their personal biases in check and concentrate on doing what's best for the city.

That pipe dream lasted for a month or so. And now, Boyer is an endangered species.

The particulars hardly seem to matter, but it appears Boyer is in trouble for actions related to cleaning up the city after the series of storms last summer. It's a classic trap. She arranges to have storm debris cleaned, and is in trouble for allegedly not doing it the proper way. Had she not acted to clean up the mess, she would be faulted for dragging her feet and being incompetent.

Who is correct? Who cares? Boyer's critics on the council are gunning for her, and that's all that really counts.

It is disappointing that council members Susan Kirk and Jim Farley, who have expressed frustration in the past over the city's petty politics, are now engaging in the same sort of nonsense. They should know better.

For Crystal River residents, it's time to take a long look at your city government.

The council is fractured. Again. The city manager is on the way out. Again.

The city attorney is prepping for an impending, and expensive, court fight over the council's decision to annex a huge tract of property.

Part of that case involves a question of whether the city attorney himself should be disqualified because, his opponent says, he represented more than one side during the council debate.

That annexation, by the way, just caught a monkey wrench in its spokes.

The city was facing a tough challenge by having only one planner to handle the enormous and complicated workload that comes with absorbing hundreds of acres of commercial property, some of which already is developed, most of which is envisioned as a multiphase series of commercial and residential projects.

Citrus County staff had several people working for years on those plans when the proposal was in their lap. The task for the single Crystal River planner was going to be monumental, especially since she was also revising the city's land development code as well.

Then she quit. And the finalist for the Public Works director's job said thanks, but no thanks.

That leaves the city government languishing on life support, kept alive by the efforts of those valiant souls still in the trenches.

The question for residents should be, is it time to pull the plug? Is it time to end this misery?

Think about it. Exactly what are you getting for your tax dollars? The city already privatizes its garbage hauling. It would have needed outside help with its planning workload. Residents already are paying county taxes, so why not let Citrus County absorb those duties along with building inspections, utilities, even fire service?

Let the sheriff take over police duties. He does it now for Inverness, and the results speak for themselves: Better service and a lower cost.

The strongest argument for preserving the city will be Crystal River's long and proud history, and it is a compelling point. The old-line families with roots running several generations deep and the relative newcomers who appreciate the small-town feel of the place would never want to see that disappear.

But ask yourself, after nearly two decades of this shameful political insanity, with no end in sight, how proud are you now of your city?

Dissolving Crystal River may seem like an extreme step, a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

But is the alternative any more appealing?

[Last modified February 7, 2005, 01:44:19]