In shadow of mayor, City Council rethinks its clout

May pitch state for more power

Members of the Boston City Council, often portrayed as weak in a City Hall where mayors traditionally have ruled supreme, are considering asking state lawmakers to give the council more power.

The move has its roots in a dispute with Mayor Thomas M. Menino over the council's inability to hire its own lawyer to represent it. An internal report prepared for the councilors raises a broader point, suggesting the 13-member council's power has been gradually eroded by a succession of mayors and court decisions.

The Globe reported last month the council used an unusual arrangement to award its administrative staff large bonuses that exceeded salary ranges set by city ordinance. Council members have said they are reduced to such actions because they lack sufficient authority to control their own affairs.

Even though clout has been a long-simmering complaint, council members stopped short yesterday of voting to ask state legislators for more power. Instead, members said they need more time to consider the issue.

The idea of asking the Legislature for more power was included in the internal report, presented by longtime council staff member Paul Walkowski to the council's rules committee yesterday. Walkowski had been a top aide to former council president James M. Kelly, who died in January 2007. In the report, Walkowski wrote that "the notion that the city operates under a 'strong mayor/weak council' form of government is not founded in either statute or constitution; it is a creation of the courts."

The report details state court rulings in 2000 and 2005 that found the City Council does not have the authority to hire its own lawyer separate from the city's corporation counsel, who is appointed by the mayor.

Councilors have complained that corporation counsel has a conflict of interest in cases in which the council's interests do not align with the mayor's.

Council President Maureen Feeney said the public generally believes Boston has a "strong mayor" form of government but "in reality that is not necessarily the case."

A spokeswoman for Menino said that the mayor had not yet seen the report and was unavailable for comment but that he opposed allowing the City Council to hire its own lawyer.

"I'm not sure even taxpayers would want to spend money on more corporation counsels or more counsels for the council," said Menino's press secretary, Dorothy Joyce.

Former Boston city councilor Michael J. McCormack said that there has been a power struggle between the council and the mayor's office but that when council has challenged the mayor it has always lost in court because the city's charter does indeed establish the "strong mayor" form.

"You can define it any way you want, but that's what it is," McCormack said.

McCormack doubted any local legislators would want to line up against Menino by sponsoring the proposed legislation.

"I'm sure there's somebody from the nether-regions, another part of the state, who'd be willing to do it," McCormack said.

"Any legislation such as that is dead-on-arrival as a practical matter. The state Legislature is not going to get involved in local politics and define, now in 2008, what's been in the city charter since the 1600s."

Sam Tyler, executive director of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a nonprofit watchdog group that closely follows city affairs, agreed that any effort to alter the city's structure of government would not be received well at the Legislature, even if it would impact other cities and towns.

"It would still be thought of as a Boston bill," he said.

But he agreed that the City Council should have more leeway over its own staffing decisions.

Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, who is widely believed to be exploring a run for mayor, said that it was important to better define the council's role but that Menino has been unreceptive to City Council's oversight role.

"I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory that the council has lost power over the years," he said. "We just happen to have an administration that isn't exactly welcoming to new ideas and frankly to any criticism."

Joyce declined to comment on the charge.

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com.