You are part of a local citizens group that believes in nonpartisan elections and is seeking charter change for your municipality. For the purposes of this paper, assume that the municipality is not currently operating under a nonpartisan form of government and that the new form of government would result in one less council member. Currently, all of the council members belong to a political party and are supported in the primary and general elections by the local, county, and state party machines.

Directions:

In a well-written and thoughtful paper, identify and describe the form of municipal government that, in your opinion, would give citizens the utmost representation and self-governance and provide for the most appropriate level of checks and balances. You must

• Analyze at least three forms of government.
• Consider the statutory powers granted to both elected and appointed officials.
• Identify and discuss the procedure you would use to compel adoption of your chosen form of government.
• Describe the practical methodology you would use to achieve your goal.
• Define any ethical dilemmas the current elected officials might encounter.

In general, your paper should interpret, debate, and propose what constitutes ethical and legal approaches in effective leadership in the context of identifying, describing, and analyzing forms of municipal government and the discharge of fiduciary responsibility by municipal officials.