"City manager" in the municipal management system: problems of competitive selection and efficiency of activities

Shalashnikova Valentina Yur'evna ORCID: 0000-0002-4326-9208 Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation 125167, Russia, Moscow, Leningradsky Avenue, 49/2 dublerprefekta@gmail.com

Introduction. The appointment of a professional manager (city manager) to the position of head of the city or municipal district administration is considered as the most promising mechanism for improving the quality of local management decisions ^{[17, 20]}. The need to professionalize management practices is due to the high level of complexity in the activities of modern municipalities, the need to implement diverse functions and multiple communications ^[5]. A municipal manager in conditions of uncertainty and lack of resources must have a significant amount of competence in the field of territorial marketing, strategic planning, and budget management ^[19].

However, according to research and statistical data, the set goals of municipal reform are not always fully achieved. In particular, scientists conclude about the insufficient level of professionalism of city managers, the inefficiency of their decisions ^[12]. There are problems in the implementation of economic and economic goals, "modest results" in achieving the financial stability of the municipality ^[8]. There is often no correlation between the introduction of the position of "city manager" and the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the territory ^[15]. Russian scientists, having considered statistical data, draw conclusions about the "subsidence" of such indicators as the expenditure part of the budget for the social sphere, the dynamics of employment in municipal institutions ^[7]. The scientific literature substantiates the conclusion that the development and implementation of comprehensive training and retraining programs for city managers is the most significant factor in improving the efficiency of municipal management ^[1].

Based on the results of the analysis of the reasons for the insufficient effectiveness of the city manager's activities, it can be concluded that there are several groups of destructive factors. Thus, in a number of scientific papers, the problem of fluctuations from the set goals of municipal reform is highlighted ^[18]. The introduction of the "city manager" model presupposed the concentration of the professional manager's activities on economic and economic tasks. However, there are practices of prevailing leadership ambitions of the city manager, which leads to scaling up his efforts in the political arena ^[3]. Another factor of destruction is the problems of professional training of a city manager. According to Russian scientists, the knowledge and skills that management personnel possess today often do not correspond to modern realities and the needs of society. Imbalances in the system of training and retraining of personnel for state and municipal management lead to low efficiency of decisions, problems in the socio-economic development of territories ^[6]. It can be said that the modern higher education system is "lagging" in the process of developing curricula and study programs behind the rapidly changing landscape of municipal politics.

Another factor is the problems of ensuring a high-quality selection of candidates for the position of city manager. Scientists talk about a "failure" in the system of evaluation indicators, priority among which is often given to the applicant's personal connections, his stable contacts with regional elites ^{[13, 14]}. The risk of "screening out" candidates with a low level of loyalty is highlighted ^[10]. Additionally, it is noted that the candidate's work experience is more significant than the profile of his education ^[11]. The conclusion of A. G. Komissarov about the need to improve the personnel competition policy, the development of new approaches to the formation of a leadership corps of managers in the system of state and municipal administration ^[9] seems to be very reasonable.

Methods. During the work on the article, general scientific research methods such as analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison and classification were used primarily. Conclusions about the existing problems in the activities of modern city managers are made on the basis of systemic, situational and institutional approaches. When making recommendations, the author uses the results of a questionnaire survey of heads of local governments. The study was conducted in 2023, the total number of respondents was 188 people. The categories of respondents surveyed included both persons holding the position of "city manager" and heads of municipalities and their deputies. The survey was conducted with the support of the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government (VARMSU). The results were processed using the SPSS program. Relying on the expertise of respondents' opinions ensures that the principle of validity of the recommendations being developed is achieved.

Results. The legislative consolidation of the status of a professional manager of the local administration (city manager) initiated the formation of controversial issues, polar opinions regarding its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the advantages are associated with the involvement of highly qualified personnel in the local government system (90.4% of respondents say this), the separation of political and economic functions of the head (70.7%), the removal of tension in the interaction of local and regional authorities (87.2%). On the other hand, the advantages of the model due to the insufficient level of elaboration of a number of its elements turn into significant disadvantages. Thus, the removal of tension between the region and the municipality initiates the strengthening of the influence of the governor's team on making decisions on the appointment of a city manager, and, accordingly, the expansion of "levers of pressure" on the activities of a professional manager from the region. This problem is noted in the survey in the estimates of respondents (53.7% identified it as significant). The dependence of the city manager on the regional authorities reduces the quality of his managerial decisions, causes insufficient consideration of the opinions of the population. In these conditions, the city manager will most likely be focused on achieving "fast" results, high appreciation from the region, rather than on building strategic goals. During the survey, respondents expressed concern about the low level of trust in the city manager on the part of the population. More than half of the surveyed heads of local governments (58%) noted that the cancellation of direct mayoral elections negatively affects interaction with the population, since various kinds of "pre-election agreements" and "promises" during campaign events are excluded. 55.9% of experts say that a modern city manager is forced to focus on achieving "fast" results. Another problem is the lack of resources in modern municipalities, which does not allow for adequate integration of long-term development strategies. This thesis was expressed by the overwhelming majority of the surveyed municipalities (88.8%). Insufficient resources cause a high risk potential and a high probability of miscalculations in the goal-setting system of the city manager.

At the same time, 49.5% of respondents expressed concerns about the prioritization of its activities, where the tasks set by the regional government come first, rather than the interests and needs of local residents. Thus, these phenomena show the existence of poles of conflict between the city manager and the local community, which, in fact, is the "employer" of a professional manager. However, the lack of leverage devalues the importance of local communities in the municipal government system, leading to a conflict of "goals".

Such negative trends are primarily due to the imperfection of the processes of organizing the competition for the position of city manager. The spontaneity of the processes of functioning of the "city manager" model, the practices of his appointment did not allow to fully realize the advantages inherent in the reform, to ensure the selection of the most competitive managerial personnel. There is a problem of information asymmetry caused by insufficient transparency of competitive procedures, narrowing the boundaries of access of representatives of local communities to information characterizing the professional and personal qualities of applicants for the position of city manager.

The rearrangement of priorities and forces in decision-making on the staffing of the model would significantly eliminate existing risks. Improving the selection procedures will make it possible to prioritize the professional competencies of the head of the municipality, whereas at present the level of his loyalty to the regional authorities is often given the dominant role. It is important to understand that taking into account the opinions of local residents, the formation of conditions for municipal development in order to maximize the comfort of their stay should be considered as a key dominant activity of the city manager. The priority of these principles can be ensured by regulating the criteria of selection processes in the human resources system of the "city manager" model. In particular, such a qualifying qualification as "settlement", that is, the place of residence of the candidate, deserves attention. Taking into account this qualification will not only create conditions for increasing support for the actions of the municipal leader from the local population, but also, with a certain degree of probability, ensure the dominance of the interests of the territory in the implementation of his managerial decisions. Similar conclusions have been drawn in the works of other scientists who speak about the importance of the territorial identity of the head. This factor is formed in conditions of common interests, values and a common cultural framework and represents a "symbolic resource" of the territory ^[16]. Some scientists, considering the issues of territorial self-identification, focus on the willingness or unwillingness of an individual to move to another city/country ^[2]. Accordingly, a leader with the appropriate qualification of "settlement" and/or unwillingness to leave his "small homeland" is more likely to protect local territorial interests. Similar conclusions are found in the work of T. N. Gordeeva, who notes the high role of unity of values and meanings in the interaction of government and local communities ^[4]. The importance of the residency qualification was noted by 64.4% of the respondents, giving this criterion a score of 5 out of five possible, another 9% rated this criterion by 4 points. The results obtained, for all their controversial nature, require a deeper analysis and accounting.

Discussion of the results. The creation of optimal conditions for the implementation of the city manager's activities is a factor in achieving its effectiveness. First of all, it requires understanding and improving the legislative framework, developing methodological recommendations to ensure the effectiveness of the city manager's activities. It seems necessary to develop methodological recommendations based not only on existing experience, but also on statistical data, the results of sociological research illustrating the destruction of the "city manager" model. Secondly, special attention should be paid to the professional training of a city manager. In our opinion, both the training program in the higher education system in the specialty "state and municipal management" and the professional development program for heads of local governments require rethinking. Retraining and advanced training programs should include:

· Basic fundamentals of municipal management (law, economics, finance and budget, housing and communal services, security);

· formation of competencies on the most popular tools for the development of territories (cooperation of several municipalities, public-private partnership, search for investments).

At the same time, it is assumed not a static transfer of knowledge, but the creation of conditions for familiarization with best practices, the study of updates in the field of municipal law, the prospects for the use of market elements of management. 

Thirdly, the vagueness of the evaluation criteria in the competitive process does not allow achieving the requirements of professionalization in the practices of appointment to the position of city manager.  Based on the results of the study, the author proposes a competitive selection model that includes the following levels:

· assessment of formal criteria (citizenship, profile of education, retraining programs);

· a block of assessment of the candidate's knowledge and experience (knowledge in the field of law, economics, finance, municipal management, etc., as well as managerial experience);

· assessment of analytical skills and project competencies (skills in diagnosing socio-economic problems of the territory, knowledge of the specifics of the territorial development of a particular municipality, as well as competence to develop projects for its development under existing restrictions);

· assessment of communication competencies (skills of interaction with the audience, primarily with representatives of local communities, the ability to build dialogical forms of communication).

Additionally, it is proposed to consider the "residency qualification" in the assessment of the candidate. However, the controversial nature of this factor implies the variability of its use.

The integration of these blocks in the evaluation system of candidates for the position of city manager is possible provided that a multi-level competitive procedure is implemented. At the initial stage, it is supposed to establish compliance with formal requirements, at the second — an assessment of the knowledge and skills of a city manager, at the third - the definition of analytical competencies during the proposal of cases for the development of a strategy (project) of a given municipality, at the fourth — public protection of the project. At the same time, at the final stage, it seems advisable to involve the public and experts in evaluating the proposed strategies. The participation of the population in the evaluation of a candidate can ensure the removal of tension in the interaction between the government and the population, partially ensuring the return of "election promises" to municipal practice. This factor, in our opinion, can ensure the growth of trust and the involvement of the population in the implementation of local initiatives. It is important to ensure that, in the event of a candidate's victory, the development of coherent indicators for evaluating his performance in accordance with the strategic plans developed by him at the selection stage.

Special attention in the candidate's assessment system should be paid to both knowledge in the field of law, economics and local economy, as well as mastery of professional project competencies. The ability of a city manager to carry out managerial activities in conditions of resource scarcity can be determined on the basis of his use of innovative approaches, strategically prioritized mechanisms for attracting finance, creating jobs, and improving the quality of life. An option for using an innovative approach may be the development of proposals to update internal sources of development of the territory, the use of such methods as proactive budgeting, investment search, job creation, and the launch of entrepreneurial activities of the population.

The practice of improving the main activities of a city manager may also include the following measures: combining universal and differentiated (for different types of municipalities) selection criteria; formation of an educational platform for city managers in two directions: general (basic knowledge and competencies) and specific (features of development and management of the region and municipality); redistribution of functional responsibilities of a city manager, taking into account regional specifics, as well as the type of municipality.

Conclusion. The involvement of a city manager in the management of the territory certainly seems to be an effective strategy for overcoming crisis phenomena in the municipal economy and the social sphere. Only a professional manager who integrates knowledge and skills in the field of law, economics, finance, as well as business experience, can provide a breakthrough in achieving higher standards of quality of life for the local population. However, the insufficient level of elaboration of the basic elements of the competitive process in the selection of city managers becomes a factor in the inversion of this model. The advantages of appointing a professional manager turn into such destructions as strengthening regional levers of pressure on the activities of the local mayor, focusing his efforts on achieving "quick" results. The most significant problem is the neglect of the declared principles of professionalization of the model during the competitive process. Thus, in some cases, the blurring of the evaluation criteria leads to the replacement of the competence criterion by an assessment of the level of political loyalty, the presence of stable ties with the regional elite. Taking into account these destructive fluctuations from the set parameters of the functioning of the "city manager" model, the author suggests detailing the competitive procedures, developing a multi-level system for assessing the knowledge and competencies of candidates for the position of head of the local administration.

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