The plan is an American concept. The first position legally defining, by ordinance, the broad authority and responsibility associated with today's local government manager was in Staunton, Virginia, in 1908. Sumter, South Carolina, was the first city to adopt a charter incorporating the basic principles of council/manager government in 1912. Westmount, Quebec, introduced the plan to Canada in 1913. The first large city to adopt the plan was Dayton, Ohio, in 1914. The first counties to adopt it in the 1930s were Arlington County, Virginia, and Durham County and Robeson County, North Carolina.Since its establishment, it has become the most popular form of government in the United States in communities of 25,000 or more population. It is popular for local governments in such countries as Canada, Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and West Germany. For more than 80 years, council/manager government has shown durability and flexibility in responding to the changing needs of citizens and their communities.