UNDER the city charter, the city administrator (CA) runs the city. Day-to-day operations are handled by the city manager, the shorter title of the CA, so that the mayor can devote his time to the more sensitive and demanding job of leading the city government, especially on devising solutions to big problems and shaping important policies.

The CA, though, may handle only the tasks the the mayor entrusts to him, especially when the chief executive micro-manages, that is, he sticks his hand into every inch of the pie.

A source at City Hall says that may be the reason the mayor arrives late at meetings and exhausts himself by taking part in each and every task.

How the new CA performs may be the gauge whether the mayor has modified his work habit.