Columbia Mayor Bob Coble thinks the city’s form of government needs to change — and wants a citizens’ commission to explore the possibilities.

Decisions on key issues are made too slowly, and no one is accountable enough to voters under the current structure, he said.

The city is run by a city manager, who reports to the seven-member City Council. The mayor has only one vote.

“People recognize and applaud our progress, but complain about our process,” Coble said. “The problem is that the city manager works for a committee, and that leads to a lack of accountability.”

Coble plans to outline his proposal in a speech Monday to the Columbia Rotary Club.

Changing city government would require a referendum.

Coble is advocating the commission make a recommendation within six months.

Any changes would not take effect until 2008 or 2010, he said, to keep the discussion focused on structure and not individual elected officials. Coble plans to run for a fifth four-year term in 2006.

Coble said it has been 50 years since Columbia decided on the council-manager form of government. He said the city needs a mayor with more authority to deal with such issues as economic development and homeland security.

Switching to the “strong-mayor” form of government might be too drastic a step, he said, so he is proposing a hybrid system he calls the mayor-council-manager form.

Under that system, the mayor would hire and fire the city manager and possibly other department heads. He or she would present an executive budget and have veto power over City Council. This form would require a change in state law, and Coble wants to lobby the state Legislature to provide more alternative forms of governments for cities.

The commission also could look into whether the city and county governments should weigh consolidation, he said.

Several City Council members said they support creating a commission, but predicted the process will lead to an affirmation of the council-manager form.

“Everyone has a voice in our council-manager form of government,” said Councilman E.W. Cromartie. “The power’s not invested in one person; the power’s invested in the people.”

Councilwoman Anne Sinclair said council, as a whole, is held accountable when there are problems in the city.

“When I go to neighborhood meetings, I don’t hear them champing at the bit for somebody to hold accountable,” she said. “When I stand in front of them, they are holding me accountable.”

But Ike McLeese, chief executive of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, said a change would help accelerate development. “A lot of us in the business community have expressed a concern about the amount of time it requires to get something done.”

He cited the hand-over of the bus system from SCE&G to a regional transit authority, and the convention center hotel debate.

Coble said he expects, and is trying to pre-empt, concern from minority leaders that “you’re changing the rules just when African-Americans have a seat at the table.”

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who three years ago became the first African-American elected at-large, called that a “very valid concern.”

Two other council members are African-American, as is city manager Charles Austin.

But Cromartie said he was more concerned about constituents losing power because their district representatives would be weaker.

Coble said he had consulted state NAACP president Lonnie Randolph about his proposal and planned to include the NAACP on the commission.

Howard Duvall, executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina, has traditionally advocated for the council-manager form of government.

“But the mayor is right that it’s been 50 years since we implemented these forms, and we might need to go back and look at them to see if they need to be tweaked to be more relevant to modern times,” Duvall said.

No major S.C. city has changed its government structure recently.

Coble said he steered clear of the issue until now to avoid appearing self-serving in the aftermath of the firing of former city manager Leona Plaugh, with whom he clashed.

But after a year of relatively stable leadership under Austin, Coble said, officials can consider what government form is best — without the fog of controversy.

Reach Drake at (803) 771-8692 or jdrake@thestate.com.