The political arm consists of the mayor and councillors while the administrative arm comprises municipal management and employees. The politicians focus on policy making, oversight and by-laws, while administrators concentrate on implementation and service delivery. In a nutshell, the political arm deals with strategic direction whereas the administrative team manages operational implementation.
This does not suggest that the administrative leader – the municipal manager – has no strategic skills. As an example, the political arm may direct the adoption of smart technology for the region, but the administrative arm – led by the Municipal Manager – will need to develop an implementation strategy, a strategy within a strategy.
Let’s understand the roles, functions, responsibilities, and limitations of each arm.
1. Political arm.
- Role: Elected councillors, executive mayor, and committee members.
- Functions: Decides, informs, and approves by-laws, budgets, and policies.
- Responsibility: Furthers community interests and provides oversight over the administration.
- Limitations: Typically, prohibited from meddling in everyday administrative matters including administrative staff appointments, tenders, and operational decisions (referred to as ‘separation of powers’) among others.
2. Administrative arm.
- Role: Municipal Manager, Chief Financial Officer, service node directors, department managers, and officials.
- Functions: Implements council policies, manages municipal infrastructure, and delivers services.
- Responsibility: Technical advice to the political arm and manages finance and everyday operations.
- Limitations: Must act according to policies defined by council, and within legislative and regulatory frameworks.
The distinct difference between the two arms is that the political arm talks to ‘what to do’ or strategy, while the administrative teams handle ‘how to do it’. (execution).
While observing a ‘separation of powers’, the political and administrative arms must see each other as close partners behind a common purpose of relevant service delivery. The word ‘relevant’ is key and, being close to the community as their representatives, the political arm provides ‘service relevance’.
