The city manager takes an active role in the policy development process. This includes walking council through the strategic planning process and, present for approval, a final five-year strategic plan. This strategic planning process takes place each year.
The city manager is also tasked with making sure that the city council get all the information that they need to make informed policy decisions throughout the year. To meet this requirement, the city manager, working in conjunction with the city secretary, provides agendas and additional information to the city council in advance of all council meetings.
The manager makes policy recommendations to the council, but the council may or may not adopt them and may modify the recommendations. The manager is bound by whatever action the council takes.
About College Station
Few communities can match the wide range of appealing opportunities in College Station. Whether you want to start a successful career or business, a safe place to raise a family, or a quiet location to spend your golden years, College Station has it all.
Located in central Texas, College Station is the home of Texas A&M University, one of the nation's largest public institutions with nearly 80,000 students. The university's diverse student body contributes to the community's vibrancy, reflecting various races, cultures, and nationalities. College Station ranks among the nation's top college towns and is a sports hotbed, thanks to A&M's membership in the mighty Southeastern Conference.
With a population surpassing 130,000, College Station has grown by more than 34% since 2010, making it one of the nation's fastest-growing cities. In 2024, the community was rated as the nation's safest and cheapest place for families, and the prestigious Milken Institute routinely rates College Station as one of the country's best-performing cities based on economic and quality-of-life metrics.
Meanwhile, Niche.com rated College Station among America's top 25 cities to live in, with its public school system ranked in the top 10. College Station may be a university town, but Realtor.com places it among the top 10 cities for retirees.
College Station has also emerged as a top tourism destination. In 2024, TripAdvisor named it the second fastest-growing domestic destination for U.S. travelers, thanks to a national record-setting George Strait concert, an international soccer match, and the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships. In addition, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum draws more than 125,000 annual visitors. Another top attraction is the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, featuring a world-class collection of American war memorials.
Five of the country's 20 largest cities are within a three-hour drive of College Station. Well-maintained highways and a regional airport catering to major airlines facilitate the city's accessibility. Collaborating with Texas A&M and the City of Bryan, College Station has spearheaded the development of a high-tech research hub to drive sustained economic growth. As of June 2024, the area's unemployment rate of 3.7 percent was among the lowest in the country, and its property tax rate was among the lowest in Texas.
The City of College Station's expansive park system covers 1,900 acres across 58 public parks, offering sports courts, swimming pools, dog parks, playgrounds, trails, a skate park, and an outdoor amphitheater and festival site. The city government also boasts nationally accredited parks, public works, water, fire, police, and public safety communications departments.
Sister Cities
The Bryan-College Station Sister Cities Association began in 1989 to promote cultural understanding, fellowship, and communications between our cities and our first sister city, Kazan, Russia. Today, we have three additional sister cities: Greifswald, Germany, Salamanca, Mexico and Bastogne, Belgium. The Association is an affiliate of Sister Cities International.
Mission Statement
"On behalf of the citizens of College Station, home of Texas A&M University,
the city council will promote and advance the community's quality of life."
The City of College Station is a young municipality, with its beginnings in the founding of Texas A&M College. Texas' first state institution of higher education, the college was inaugurated in 1876.
Because of the school's isolation, school administrators provided facilities for those who were associated with the college. The campus became the focal point of community development. The area was designated "College Station, Texas" by the Postal Service in 1877. The name was derived from the train station located to the west of the campus.
Growth of both the community and college influenced residents' desire to create a municipal government. The City of College Station was incorporated in 1938. The incorporation was a result of a petition by 23 men representing on- and off-campus interests to the board of directors of Texas A&M College. The board of directors had no objection to the annexation and suggested that a belt around the campus be included in the proposed city.
Citizens voted 217 to 39 on Oct. 19, 1938, to incorporate the City of College Station. The first city council meeting was held on Feb. 25, 1939, in the administration building on Texas A&M campus.
The council became interested in adopting a governmental structure similar to the council-manager form of government. At the time of incorporation, state law did not allow a general law city to hire a city manager. As a result, College Station employed a business manager until 1943 when state law was changed to permit general law cities to make use of the council-manager form of government. College Station become the first general law city in the State of Texas to employ a city manager. In 1952, once College Station's population exceeded 5,000, College Station voters approved a home rule charter that provided for the council-manager form of government.
Additional Sources
- Project HOLD historic online library database
- Home of Texas A&M University by Anne Boykin
- A City on the Right Track by Anne Boykin
- City Stories
Role of the Council
In a council-manager government, council members are the leaders and policy makers elected to represent various segments of the community. The council is the city's governing body. Council members are community service volunteers who are elected to concentrate on policy issues in response to the community's needs and wishes.
The council is the legislative body; its members are the community's decision-makers. Power is centralized in the elected council, which approves the budget and determines the tax rate, for example. The council also focuses on the community's goals, major projects, and such long-term considerations as: community growth, land-use development, capital improvement plans, capital financing, and strategic planning. The council hires and supervises a professional manager that carries out the administrative responsibilities.
The manager is appointed by the council to carry out policy and ensure that the entire community is being served with the level of city services set by the council. If the manager is not responsive to council wishes, the council has the authority to remove the manager at any time. In that sense, the manager's responsiveness to citizen needs is tested daily. Additionally, the City of College Station provides numerous opportunities for citizen input via advisory committees and boards. Citizens may also voice any concerns or comments regarding city services with the City Manager's Office.
Council-Manager Form of Government
The City of College Station incorporated in 1938 and operates under a council-manager form of government. The council-manager form is the system of local government that combines strong political leadership, representative democracy through elected officials, and professional management.
The form establishes a representative form of government by concentrating all power in the elected city council. The council hires a professionally trained and educated city manager to oversee the delivery of public services and the daily operations of the city. council members are part-time volunteers who serve as the policy making board for the city's government.
Role of the City Manager
The manager is hired to serve the council and community by bringing the benefits of his or her professional training, education and experience in administering local government projects and programs on behalf of the governing body, the city council.
The city manager:
- Prepares an annual budget for the council's consideration.
- Recruits, hires, and supervises the city's staff.
- Serves as the council's chief adviser.
- Carries out the council's policies.
Council members and citizens rely on the manager to provide complete and objective information, evaluation of alternatives, and identification of the possible impacts of possible policy decisions.
Does the manager participate in policy development?
How much citizen participation is possible under this form?
Successful examples of citizen participation in the local government service delivery decision-making process are widespread among professionally managed U.S. communities. Because professional local government management offers government of the people, by the people, and for the people, it sets the stage for citizen activism by encouraging open communication between citizens and their government.
Examples range from visioning, in which citizens play a major role in determine the future of their community, to neighborhood service delivery, which involves residents through the development of citizen/government partnerships, to community-oriented local government services.
Because political power is concentrated in the entire governing body rather than one elected official, more citizens have an opportunity to be elected to a position in which they have significant influence over the future of their community.
Mayors in council-manager communities are key political leaders and policy developers.
The mayor:
- Presides at council meetings.
- Serves as a spokesperson for the community.
- Facilitates communication and understanding between elected and appointed officials.
- Assists the council in setting goals and advocating policy decisions.
- Serves as a promoter and defender of the community.
- Serves as a key representative in intergovernmental relations.
Are all council-manger governments structured the same way?
No. One of its most attractive features is that the council-manager form is adaptable to local conditions and preferences. For example, some communities have councils that are elected at large while other councils are elected by district. Some local governments have mayors who are elected by the voters at large; others are elected by their colleagues on the council.
Is the form popular in large communities?
What is the cost of appointing a professional manager?
Local governments have found that overall costs have been reduced with competent management. Savings come in the form of reduced operating costs, increased efficiency and productivity, improved revenue collection, or effective use of technology.
What is the history of the council-manager form?
Born out of the turn-of-the-century progressive reform movement, the council-manager system of local government is one of the few original American contributions to political theory. In 1908, Staunton, Virginia, instituted the first position legally defining, by ordinance, the broad authority and responsibility associated with today's professional local government manager.
Sumter, South Carolina, was the first city to adopt principles of council-manager government in 1912. Westmount, Quebec, introduced the form to Canada in 1913. The first American city to adopt the plan was Dayton, Ohio, in 1914. The first counties were Arlington County, Virginia, and Durham County, and Robeson County, North Carolina, in the 1930s.
Since its establishment, the council-manager form has become the most popular form of local government in the United States in communities with populations of 5,000 or greater. For more than 85 years, council-manager governments have been responding to the changing needs of citizens and communities communities.
Can the manager be removed from office?
Managers serve at the pleasure of the council or governing body. They can be terminated by a majority of the council, consistent with local laws, ordinances, or employment agreements they may have with the council. Control is always in the hands of the elected representatives of the people.
According to the Texas City Managers' Association (TCMA), the average tenure for city managers that are TCMA members is about 6.4 years.