In a recent election, voters in Sturgis elected to change from a city manager form of government. However, that vote came with other ripples the community is still grappling with.
The Black Hills community passed the decision that moved municipal government to an aldermanic system overseen by a mayor. This came after a widely circulated petition brought the matter to court.
While the city challenged the efforts, ultimately a state Supreme Court ruling mandated a vote.
Amid the change, the city saw turnover in the administrative division. That includes the resignation of long-time mayor Mark Carstensen and the appointment of councilor Angela Wilkerson for the role.
City of Sturgis director of communications Deb Holland said there have been other speed bumps as the community changes government form.
“The city attorney put together a recommendation that the city would need to change a lot of its guidance, ordinances and resolutions not to say, ‘city manager,’ but to say in this case ‘mayor,’" Holland said. "That was quite an involved process where we needed to pass a resolution through the council.”
In total, that adjustment represents over 150 changes to policy, code, and regulations for the council and city attorney to work through. That includes shifting the city manager responsibilities back to the mayors’ office and reserving the mayors’ vote only in the event of ties among the council.
Holland said the city is still looking at options, including more changes to administration.
“We’ve got staff that are moving forward, trying to answer all those questions," Holland said. "The citizens – I think that they’re under the understanding that we’re going to be okay, and we have this option of a city administrator that we can reach out and use if we so choose.”
While similar roles, a city administrator is much more involved in day-to-day operations of municipal government. A city manager, on the other hand, is move involved in negotiations and economic development.
If the community elects that route, that will require the council to pass a new ordinance.