Fifty-four employees, seven department heads, and one part-time mayor to lead them all? Grantsville's present executive structure just doesn't make sense, particularly with the city growing by leaps and bounds each year. The old arrangement may have worked well in the past when the town was smaller and the mayor could be a jack-of-all-trades who jumped in wherever he was needed. Today, however, Grantsville needs a full-time mayor whose job description is formalized and whose duties are more narrowly defined.

Present Mayor Byron Anderson is pulled in too many directions at once. He's expected to supervise the entire roster of city employees, spearhead the town's economic development efforts, keep abreast of all issues coming before the City Council (including planning and zoning issues), and still turn on the park sprinklers. By his estimate, he consistently puts in full-time hours, yet has no office at City Hall. His salary of $32,000 is paltry compared to the $77,250 paid Tooele's mayor -- and at least $20,000 less than the department heads he supervises.

A part-time mayor who works full-time hours is really a semi-volunteer, and Anderson says he couldn't afford that volunteer time if he weren't retired. That raises the question of what kind of chief executive the city wants in the future. Creating a full-time position with pay commensurate to the importance of the office would help Grantsville attract a broader pool of professional candidates for future mayoral elections. That might yield more innovative, financially disciplined mayors who could thrive in the private sector but are able to choose public service without disadvantaging their families.

In addition to making the position of mayor full time with commensurate pay, the job description itself needs some revamping. The mayor must be focused on the bigger picture and not get bogged down by administrative details or menial tasks that could be delegated elsewhere. The big picture in Grantsville is how to make growth and development pay for increasing city services and infrastructure improvements to the town. Does the city have enough affordable housing? Does it have enough recreation facilities for youth? What types of economic development should be pursued to attract new businesses, create jobs and broaden the town's sales tax base? How can Grantsville become an even better place to live as more and more people keep moving in?

These are the questions future mayors will have to answer. The answers will require a thorough knowledge of the problems, a professional managerial approach, and the time to work on solutions -- full time.