Voters in Stone Mountain’s Nov. 3 election will pick more than a new mayor and three city council members. They are also being asked to change the city’s charter from a strong mayor government to one headed by a city manager.

The controversial issue has pitted outgoing Mayor Gary Peet against Beverly Jones, a councilwoman who is one of three candidates seeking to replace him.

Peet says approval of the referendum by voters is extremely important and would guarantee the town’s 7,600 residents that the city’s day-to-day operations are in the hands of a professional manager with the education and experience to run a city.

“A small town in an urban area has many of the same demands placed on it as a big city” said Peet, who has been the city’s mayor of six years.

“You have to have somebody who knows the law, knows the ins and outs of local government. Elected officials don’t necessarily have that training.”

Jones, who has been on the council for three years, says a change would turns the mayor into a “ceremonial mayor.”

“The mayor will be powerless,” she said. “If you strip the mayor of its powers, who will be in charge? Who is going to be responsible for the citizens? As an elected official you are accountable, but as an employee you are not as accountable.”

Peet compared the form of government to the business model of a board of directors hiring a CEO to run a business and said that the mayor is not losing power to the city manager.

“What we are doing is taking power from the mayor and giving it to the entire body – mayor and council, so that one person does not have the power to commit the city in a direction that might not be the will of the majority,” he said.

If voters opt to change the charter, Stone Mountain would join 197 cities statewide that the Georgia Municipal Association says have some form of a city-manager government.

In DeKalb, the cities of Dunwoody, Decatur, Avondale Estates and Chamblee all have city managers.

Peet says that currently, Stone Mountain’s mayor has to serve as both mayor and city manager. He said that is too much power and that a charter change would separate the roles.

“This way the mayor could focus on being the political leader they were elected to be and represent the city to other governmental agencies and also help develop the vision for the city,” he said. “Then it would be up to the mayor and city council to establish policy and give directions to the city manager and say, ‘Make this happen.’ ”

The city already has a city manager ready to assume the more powerful role if the voters give the nod. It hired certified civil engineer Barry G. Amos as city manager in 2008 and gave him an annual salary of $93,000.

Currently, his job is in the city’s personnel department, but if the referendum passes, it would move from the merit-based system to a contract position on Jan. 1, 2010.

Jones said Amos already runs the city’s daily operations, but that the charter would give him the power to hire and fire.

“The charter is not about the day-to-day operations,” she said. “It’s about the power, who has the governing power. If this is too much work for a mayor than why even have a mayor?”

With more than $6 million in public projects, including the $1.7 million first phase of the Main Street streetscape, coming in the next few years, Peet said it is better to have professional management in place.

“I think that the strong-mayor form of government is too much power for a city our size,” he said.

Stone Mountain is not obligated to hire Amos if voters approve the city-manager form of government, and the city has two months to search for a full-time city manager.

Jones said some people in Stone Mountain are wondering why Peet, whose term ends on Dec. 31, is now pushing for the city-manager form of government. She said the pace of the change is too fast.

“I had proposed we put this on the back burner until we elect a new mayor and the council is in place and then let’s work on this,” she said. “That would have given Mr. Amos more time to get acquainted with the community. Half of the people don’t even know who the city manager is.”

Peet said changing government form would benefit the city’s next mayor.

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job in terms of managing the city,” he said. “I had a background in business and enough experience to do that, but it prevented me from doing what I think is the key role of the mayor, which is being in touch with the voters and the residents on a continual basis. The new mayor will be free to use all their time in that political role.”

Jones said the mayor should be held responsible by the voters for the positive and negative that happens in a city government.

“So when you take the power away, are you taking the responsibility away from the people,” she said. “The mayor would just become a figurehead used for ribbon cuttings. When you have a mayor with no power, who is responsible for the citizens?”