The recent political changes in Nassau County Town Boards and the final decision to adopt single member council districts in Hempstead have brought attention to the outmoded structure of our town governments.

Our town governments were designed for small, rural townships that have nothing to do with the developed suburban situations of Long Island's big townships. Even worse, town governments are constructed in ways that maximize conflict, stump reform efforts and reduce public access and accountability.

Long Island's enormous townships have governments similar to those in hundreds of other towns whose entire populations can fit onto one of our town-operated golf courses. Until this century, Nassau towns were governed by local citizens themselves, in New England-style town meetings where decisions were made by majority vote. It's the pace and values of those older times that are reflected in our current government structures and which fit our times so badly.

Town boards in the large towns are made up of the supervisor and the elected council members, acting as a collegial crypto-legislature with the supervisor as a "first among equals" chief administrator. Town departments report to the supervisor, sort of, but are financially responsible to the entire town board, sort of with individual council members playing a liaison role between constituents and the town government, sort of. Turf conflicts are inevitable and even unintentional or perceived slights take on meaning.

Worse, supervisors cannot take the kind of fast, flexible managerial actions required of a modern chief operating officer. Commissioners are appointed to their own independent two-year terms, reducing accountability and there are no checks and balances of any kind.

This is no way to govern any organization with hundreds of employees and budget of tens of millions of dollars.

It's overdue that we transform our supervisors into full-fledged town executives, with power to recommend appointments, propose and veto legislation and who have a freer hand in administering town departments.

We need true town councils with delineated legislative power and true oversight into executive operations. Access and accountability will increase when all or some of these town legislators are elected from small, single member districts. If council members are elected from districts about the size of a school district or large village, they can rely on pooled staff specialists and can be fairly compensated by small stipends (similar to the practice in most counties and cities).

These types of changes will lead to other reforms. Reforms that save money, that consolidate, that create neighborhood-based services that are more meaningful to residents.

Michael Miller was formerly Director of Public Affairs for the Town of North Hempstead. He is a public relations consultant.