CHAPTER VIII 



GENERAL EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION OF 

 A PARK DEPARTMENT 



A park department comprises two distinct divisions: (i) the governing 

 authority; (2) the executive organization. In Chapter VI the various types 

 of governing authorities have been considered chiefly from the point of view 

 of the legal phases of their creation and existence, and of the various powers, 

 rights, duties and responsibilities which they exercise under the law. This 

 chapter will consider how these various agencies organize to discharge 

 these responsibilitieswith part icular reference to the executive organization. 



POSITION OF GOVERNING AUTHORITY IN THE DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATION 



In organizing the department it is important that the governing 

 authority never lose sight of the fact that its function is to govern and not 

 to execute. Much confusion has arisen and often halting execution of plans 

 and policies has resulted from attempts of authorities to act as executives 

 and to govern at the same time. It is not always easy to distinguish between 

 what is governmental and what is executive in the conduct of the depart- 

 ment. Some of the major phases of the act of governing may be said to 

 include the following: I. An interpretation of the intents and purposes of 

 the law or laws under which a governing authority operates. 2. The trans- 

 lation of the intents and purposes of the law or laws into a series of plans 

 and policies. 3. The raising and safeguarding of funds. 4. Consideration 

 and action upon all manner of proposals originating either from the members 

 of the board (in case of a park board or commission) or from citizens as 

 individuals or organized groups, or from the executive officer or officers of 

 the department or from any other source in the community. 5. The crea- 

 tion and maintenance of an executive organization to put into effect plans 

 and policies formulated and adopted. 6. The general oversight and super- 

 vision of the acts of executive officers. 7. Rendering an account of all acts 

 and doings to the people. 



Officer organization. One of the very first acts of a governing authority 

 of the board or commission type has to do with its internal organization. 

 This consists of the election of officers and the formulation and adoption of 

 a code of procedure in the conduct of its business. The officers usually 

 ccmprise a president, vice-president, treasurer and a secretary. The first 

 two are always members of the board or commission. The treasurer may 

 be a member of the board or he may be the treasurer of the municipality 



507 



