Village and School Boards were established to bring about minimal and easy type of local governing bodies. Today's requirements have led these boards to depend on administrative personnel to carry out day to day processes.

The problem that has developed is that as local governments become more complex, the part-time elected members of boards tend to lean more on their administrative staff for all sorts of programming, scheduling, planning and new sorts of ideas.

Another important element is that a strong elected executive who ordinarily gives leadership in implementing programs that are generally agreed upon with the public, is absent by the nature and manner by which the board is established.

The elected executive normally is the one that provides community purpose and leads in the actions of local government and the one that establishes goals on the basis of community purpose and it is the executive who takes responsibility for fulfilling these goals.

Government by elected boards is unable to fulfill these democratic governmental needs. It is legislative in nature, much more than it can be executive or even administrative.

This important executive element of democratic responsibility and of leadership is a main requirement of local government, especially where citizens are unable to keep up with what is regularly going on.

Boards and board members do not have real constituencies, as the members  generally are elected at large, and are only minimally held responsible even at election time, primarily because all the other members who are not running for re-election are equally responsible.

I believe we have explained a very important problem. What is now needed is a closer look toward a solution. Perhaps there are some in the community who can suggest an appropriate solution.