Does John Cranley have too much power?

Scroll to the bottom of this story and tell us whether Cincinnati's strong-mayor system needs to be changed.

Cincinnati voters wanted a "stronger mayor" when they amended the city's charter in 2002, but did they wind up unintentionally making that position too strong?

That's one conclusion of a task force studying the charter – the city's constitution – and proposing changes to it.

A subcommittee of the citizen-led panel, presenting its findings on the mayor's powers Thursday, detailed what one member called the "extraordinary power" the mayor has acquired.

The findings are part of a charter-reform process that could lead to a vote by city residents this fall.

The full Charter Review Task Force, led by attorney Mike Morgan, a former Clifton Heights resident now living in Newport, has spent eight months reviewing the charter line by line, comparing Cincinnati's government to 17 "peer cities," and studying how Cincinnati's charter has evolved.

One of their conclusions: Cincinnati's mayor has more control over City Council than what was spelled out in the 2002 charter reform. The task force's subcommittee on the balance of power in government concluded, in essence, that the mayor enjoys an imbalance of too much power.

The subcommittee focused on the positions of mayor and city manager, not specifically on Mayor John Cranley or City Manager Harry Black. They said its findings are not specific to current office holders.

Two key ways in which the mayor holds sway over city council:

•In setting the city council's agenda, determining when or even if legislation is discussed.

•In the hiring and firing of the city manager.

"It has come out that really, the city manager reports to the mayor," committee member Alex Linser, 29, of Linwood said. "Even though council is technically the boss, as long as the city manager keeps the mayor happy, he can't be fired."

Most cities are governed by a council-manager system or a mayor-council system.

In the council-manager system the city manager enforces legislation from council. The mayor is a member of council but has no executive powers.

In the mayor-council system, the mayor is the top elected official, with executive powers but no legislative powers.

Cincinnati voters amended the Charter to create a hybrid "stronger mayor" version of the council-manager system to improve public accountability in 2002, featuring a mayor with elements of both executive and legislative power.

In Cincinnati, the mayor has the power to set the agenda for city council by choosing what issues are discussed. The mayor can withhold issues from the agenda so they are never heard – a tactic the report describes as a sort of "pocket veto."

"It really is an extraordinary power that our mayor has the power to determine which issues even see the light of day," Linser said.

To fix this imbalance, the committee suggested adding a provision to the Charter to either force the mayor to introduce legislation within a certain period, or to let council itself decide how legislation is introduced.

Under the Charter, the mayor is the first official to recommend the appointment and removal of a city manager. city council must approve of the hiring or firing of a city manager with a vote but the mayor initiates both processes – effectively making the mayor the city manager's top boss.

Councilman Kevin Flynn disagrees that the mayor has that much control over the city manager.

"This city manager has made it clear that he feels like he has 10 bosses," Flynn said. "My experience on the council has not been that the city manager felt that he only answered to the mayor."

Members of the Task Force invite public feedback as they discuss these issues at upcoming meetings. The next public discussion is schedule for April 2.

"The mission of this Task Force is to conduct a public conversation and facilitate citizen feedback," Morgan said.

In April, the Task Force will meet to review final recommendations to submit to city council.

Next meeting

Charter Review Task Force Public Forum

When: 6:30 p.m., April 2

Where: Urban League of Greater Cincinnati 3458 Reading Road

If you're viewing this on a mobile device, tap here to vote in our poll.