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Committee delays transfer of policy, research and oversight staff from city auditor to city clerk
Summary
A Minneapolis Committee of the Whole heard a proposal to move policy, research and oversight functions from the city auditor’s office to the city clerk’s office, then voted 10–3 to continue the ordinance to April 29 to allow more briefings and deliberation.
City Clerk Casey Carl presented an ordinance March 25 to transfer the Policy, Research and Oversight (PAR&O) and Oversight & Evaluation divisions from the Office of the City Auditor to the Office of the City Clerk.
Carl said the transfer would place those teams under the clerk’s “professional, nonpartisan” council staff to avoid creating a conflict with the auditor’s charter-mandated independence. The ordinance would move 10 FTEs (five positions in Policy and Research and five in Oversight and Evaluation) into a new Policy, Research and Oversight division reporting to a chief assistant city clerk.
The proposal followed a written legal analysis from the city attorney that concluded housing council support functions inside the auditor’s office risked undermining the auditor’s independence. In committee discussion, the city attorney told members “the charter really hones in on the independence of the auditor,” and said the transfer was intended to preserve that independence while keeping the functions available to council.
Several council members said they supported the legal reasoning but asked for more time to review operational details, including the precise roles and staffing structures that would result after the transfer, how the new council staff would interact with the administration, and budget implications for 2026 and beyond. Council Member Wansley and others asked for fuller briefings and chance for council-wide input on the long-term structure and governance of the legislative department.
Council President Payne moved to continue the ordinance until April 29 to permit additional briefings and outreach to audit-committee members and other council members; the motion passed on a roll-call vote, 10–3 (ayes: Payne, Wansley, Rainville, Ellison, Osman, Cashman, Chipta/Chiktay, Koski, Vice Chair Choudhry, Chair Chavez; nays: Vita, Jenkins, Palmisano).
No public speakers signed up for the hearing; the committee opened and closed the public hearing with no testimony. City staff said next steps would include coordination with Human Resources and Finance to define position classifications, further review of comparable city legislative-staff models, and periodic reports back to the council as implementation proceeds.
Why this matters: the city charter creates both the City Clerk and an independent City Auditor. Council members and staff said the change aims to preserve audit independence while creating the “council staff” the charter envisioned, but members requested more detail about structure, safeguards, and budget before final passage.
The ordinance will return to the Committee of the Whole on April 29 for further consideration.
