I served as a member of the Chehalis City Council for 18 years, a position that operates within a structure common to many local elected boards, such as school boards and public utility districts (PUDs).
In these systems, the elected board’s primary role is to oversee the professional manager — for school boards, this is the superintendent; for city councils, it’s the city manager. The board sets policy, while the manager handles the day-to-day operations, including hiring and firing decisions for staff. This division of responsibility promotes professionalism and accountability in governance.
A critical part of this structure is the communication between board members and the manager. One-on-one meetings between a manager and individual board members are normal, necessary and even expected…