The City of Norwich is organized as a mayor-council form of government. One alderman is appointed to each of the six wards of the city, and they have the power to pass legislation and control the city's finances. The mayor runs the day-to-day operations and collaborates with the council and city department heads to set the agenda for the city's projects. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — At the April 16 common council meetings, community members addressed the City of Norwich Common Council to express their thoughts on city government and other options for how it could be organized.

City of Norwich Mayor Brian Doliver said every few years the council is approached with the idea of switching to a council form of government, in which the city would be run by seven council members and a city manager, and abolish the position of mayor.

"I would think the city manager would have to have some good working knowledge of a lot of different things in our city and that would be a tall order to find somebody that had that kind of caliber," said Doliver. "When you talk about a city manager, that’s a price tag, too. So you would have to consider that at the end of the day. But I think it’s important to consider that."

He said although the city has explored this option in the past, he wants to form a committee to fully research and consider if it would be beneficial for the City of Norwich to change to a council form of government.

"We’re going to look to do a feasibility study on how other city governments work, and maybe the idea at looking at doing something different. This comes up every few years, and we talk about it, but I thought maybe it’s important to take that extra step," Doliver explained.