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Sylva officials stagger terms, eliminate party affiliation

By Lynn Hotaling

Casting votes in 2001 could be a brand new ballgame for Sylva residents.

Sylva Town Board members voted March 2 to change the entire process of electing officers to allow for staggered terms and to eliminate party politics from town elections.

Acting on a recommendation by municipal evaluator John Maxwell, Sylva's board decided to change the town election structure to give voters the opportunity to choose some members every other year. If the necessary local action motion is approved by North Carolina's Legislature, the new process will begin with the 2001 town elections. State law stipulates that municipal elections are held during odd-numbered years.

Plans call for the mayor and the two highest vote-getters to be elected to four-year terms in 2001; the other three successful board candidates will serve two-year terms. Those seats will be up for election to four-year terms beginning in 2003.

The move to staggered terms was recommended to provide continuity and history for the board and prevent a complete change in the board's composition. Though it hasn't happened in recent memory, the current system could have produced a totally new board after any election.

Town leaders also voted to make Sylva's municipal elections non-partisan. This move was also recommended by Maxwell, who said non-partisan elections help voters focus on local issues and tend to minimize the influence of state and national politics in town elections.

Staggering the terms of town board members will mean Sylva voters will go to the polls twice as often. The 1997 election cost the town some $4,700, said Lisa Lehman, Jackson County's election supervisor, with county balloting costs expected to rise due to the leasing of new voting machines.

However, moving to non-partisan elections will eliminate the requirement for an August primary, which should cut the election year cost in half, Lehman said. State law gives municipalities the option of whether or not to hold a primary in non-partisan elections. By holding only a general election, Sylva's cost over a four-year cycle should remain relatively constant.

Maxwell's recommendations were made in October. His firm, Municipal Advisors Inc. of Arlington, Va., was hired to do an organizational study of Sylva's town government, for which it was paid about $10,000.

Town officials have yet to act on one of Maxwell's main recommendations ­ that Sylva amend its charter to provide for a manager/council form of government instead of its current mayor/council structure and appears unlikely to do so. Board members last month agreed with Maurice Moody's statement that the cost of a professional manager would be greater than the town's budget could bear.

Discussion at a board retreat last month seemed to indicate, however, that the town charter may be amended to provide for a town administrator and to define more precisely his role. Maxwell's report faulted the town's governmental structure because clear lines of responsibility have not been established with regard to administration.

During the Feb. 5 planning session, the possibility of Sylva's mayor taking on a more active role by becoming town administrator, either full or part time, was discussed, but no consensus was reached.

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