Under this scenario, the City Council still holds the purse strings and approves the budget, the Mayor establishes the policies and priorities for city governance, but the full time management and day to day business operations of city adminisration would be left to a professional city manager with a degree in public management. You still have the political accountability that comes with an elected Mayor who is setting political priorities for the administration, but also benefit from the professionalism that comes with a city manager. The problem that is often associated with elected Mayors is that political acumen does not always translate into being a good administrator. The reality is that 80-90% of what a city does on a day-to-day basis does not change with a new Mayor. The new Mayor may provide a new direction on a few things, but if the Mayor is not a good administrator other services can seriously suffer. A change in administration under a traditional elected Mayor model can result in a huge loss of institutional knowledge as key political appointees flee the city administration with the out-going mayor. A professional city manager, if instituted properly, should be able to survive changes in the political scene and provide stability in a professionally adimistered city and leadership in implementing the policy priorities established by the elected Mayor.