Charter Commission refers appointment-confirmation questions to government-structure committee

The Charter Commission on Wednesday discussed how the city’s charter and a 2022 government structure ordinance differ on who appoints and confirms department heads and voted to refer those questions to the commission’s government structure committee for further work. Chair Peter Ginder said, “Our main, agenda item is related to the appointment confirmation process for department heads.”

The referral followed a staff overview of background materials. “For the commission's reference, the packet I handed out to you is what I'm gonna be going over,” City Clerk Carl told commissioners, noting the packet includes an organizational chart, links to the 2021 charter amendment on government structure (charter amendment No. 184), the 2022 government structure ordinance, and a LEMS file of council actions. Carl summarized the current structure as a mayor elected as the chief executive, a 13-member council, and two other elected policy bodies (the Park and Recreation Board and the Board of Estimate and Taxation), with appointed executive officers leading administration.

The commission’s discussion focused on a practical conflict: some department heads are named or implied in the charter as being appointed by the mayor with council consent, while other offices and departments — including positions created by the 2022 government structure ordinance such as Performance Management and Innovation, the Office of Race, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB), and Neighborhood Safety — currently exist in city code rather than the charter. Carl said many operating departments are grouped under the Office of Public Service and that “something like 17 of the 25 departments of the city are grouped there under the Office of Public Service.”

Commissioners debated whether the commission should propose charter language that codifies the 2022 ordinance, or instead leave appointing authority more flexible so future councils and mayors can organize departments by ordinance. Commissioner Kozak argued the committee’s draft would give the council more confirmation authority than it previously had; Kozak moved to refer the topic to the government structure committee, saying, “Mister chairman, I'll make the motion that you just suggested if Okay. You wanna write it down. A motion to refer I guess, to refer this issue to the, government structure committee.”

The motion was seconded (second not clearly identified on the record) and passed by voice vote. Chair Ginder and others said referral to the committee would allow more informal discussion with members and provide background for newer commissioners. Several commissioners noted the political and legal choices involved: whether to place a charter amendment on the ballot (which would make changes permanent unless voters act again) or to pursue an ordinance that the council and mayor could change in the future.

New commissioners Samantha Holquist and Jeff Schneider briefly introduced themselves after the referral vote. Holquist said she lives in Ward 8 and is “the director of education at Child Trends.” Schneider said he is a retired city employee who worked “at the city for 30 plus years.”

No formal charter amendment was proposed or finalized at the meeting. The recorded formal action was the referral of the appointment-confirmation topic to the Charter Commission’s government structure committee; commissioners said the committee will develop recommendations and background for the full commission to consider.

Background materials referenced at the meeting included: the ballot language approved by voters in 2021 implementing a strong-mayor system (charter amendment No. 184), the government structure ordinance enacted in 2022 that created several departments and offices in code, departmental rosters and appointing-authority notes in the packet, and links to the city budget book for department-level resource allocations. The clerk said those materials will be posted to the commission’s file and made available to the public.

The commission concluded the item by encouraging new members to join the government structure committee; commissioners Schneider and Holquist said they would join.