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He’s just a phone call away.

But for some, a phone call may not be close enough.

That’s the stance one Naples City Council member took earlier this month, when he asked that the city define an absent mayor as someone who is outside Collier County’s municipal limits.

Councilman Bill Willkomm asked that council look into changing the city charter, which currently gives the mayor the authority to give the city manager directives when council isn’t convened. But Willkomm doesn’t want to strip Mayor Bill Barnett, or future mayors, of this power; he wants to make sure they’re in town when they make the decision.

The request came one week after four council members, including Willkomm, wrote Naples City Manager Bill Moss to ask him to stop work on an $8.6 million parking garage because two Cooper’s hawks were found nesting on the site. Moss opted to move forward with construction, saying it would not be intrusive and would not force the hawks to abandon the nest.

Barnett, who was out of town at the time, would have had the authority to order Moss to stop the construction or call an emergency meeting if he felt the need. Barnett said he was back in town and at the site the day work was scheduled to begin, and was comfortable with Moss’ decision.

According to the city charter, the mayor’s “instructions to the city manager and city attorney shall have the effect of a council decision.” It goes on to say that the “vice-mayor shall, in the absence or disability of the mayor, have all of the powers and prerogatives and shall perform all of the duties of the mayor.”

That’s where it gets tricky. The city has never defined what it means to be absent, and as cell phones, e-mail and video conferences become more prevalent it’s tough to determine when the mayor is absent.

For Willkomm, absent means out of Collier County.

“This is just a good government initiative,” he said. “I don’t feel it’s appropriate to have someone in another part of the country make policy decisions.”

Several other council members tend to agree, to a point. For Councilman Gary Price, it’s out of the state.

“If the mayor were able to get back here with in a day, then it’s reasonable to give the mayor a chance to get back,” he said. “If you’re in Lee County for the day, you shouldn’t automatically default to the vice mayor.”

Councilwoman Penny Taylor, who also serves as the city’s vice mayor, said she isn’t sure where the boundaries should begin.

“It would be horrible to get into a turf war,” Taylor said. “Maybe we need to remove the word absent, (because) how can you be absent in today’s world.”

Taylor said she asked City Attorney Bob Pritt what the definition of an absent mayor was a few weeks ago, the same day Moss made the decision to move forward with the construction project. Taylor said she wanted to see if she had the authority to stop the work until council could discuss it.

Barnett said he hopes the decision to discuss the charter change isn’t a slight at him, and his out-of-town trips. The mayor frequently visits his home in upstate New York. He said he understands why some council members are interested in looking into the change, but said the community has already showed their support for the way he runs the city.

“I’m more than available,” he said. “I am accessible, mayors and elected officials go all over the place. For me a vacation is a vacation, but I’m always available.”

Calls to the mayor by the Daily News when he is out of town are almost always promptly returned.

Changing the charter isn’t a quick process, and while it includes passing an ordinance the new rules don’t immediately go into effect. That’s because changes to the charter, such as defining absent or allowing the mayor to serve consecutive terms, must be approved by voters.

City Clerk Tara Norman said the city could put the charter amendment on the ballot as early as August, though it’s more likely that council will choose to put it on the November ballot. Putting it on either ballot means the city won’t have to pay for a special election, Norman said.

If the city does decide to put the amendment on the ballot, they’ll first have to get permission from the United States Justice Department, Moss said. Since Collier County is listed in the federal voter rights act, Norman said, any issue not taken up during the normal city council elections — held every other February — needs to be cleared by the justice department.

It takes about 90 days for the justice department to approve a request, Norman said.

The city would need to have the amendment to the board of elections by August 26 to get it on the November ballot. City leaders would have to send the amendment by June 20, if they want to put it on the August ballot.

But Councilman John Sorey said he’s concerned with the repercussions a clearer definition of absent might have on other council seats. While the mayor is elected, the vice mayor is appointed, and Sorey said defining absent could lead to a discussion about elected versus appointed officials.