Syracuse City leaders review updated organizational chart, clarify payroll for three Syracuse Surge positions

At a Syracuse City meeting, participants discussed an updated organizational chart and clarified which positions are paid through the city payroll and which are grant-funded, including three roles connected to the Syracuse Surge program.

City staff provided an updated organizational chart that lists operational titles with the budget-book title in parentheses, attendees said. "So, we have distributed an updated org chart, that has, the title, you know, basically the operational title, that in parentheses is the title that is in the budget book," said Speaker 2, an unidentified meeting participant. The chart also indicates which positions are paid through the SERA payroll and includes salary and fringe breakdowns by position, staff said.

The discussion focused in part on three positions listed on the SERA payroll: the Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator, the I‑81 Project Director and the position listed in the budget as Smart City Manager but described by staff as the Syracuse Surge Manager. "Yep, so there are 3 positions on the SERA payroll. The Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator, the I‑81 Project Director, and what is referred to in the budget as the Smart City Manager, but is actually the Syracuse Surge Manager," Speaker 2 said. Staff said they are hiring for the Syracuse Surge Manager position and that the SurgeLink program will be among that manager’s responsibilities.

Participants clarified funding sources for those positions. When asked whether the genesis of the Syracuse Surge program was "mostly city money, combined with grants," Speaker 2 replied that the three positions on the SERA payroll are not grant-funded: "Not for these positions. Not for these positions. Right. But there are other grant funded positions that are under CERA," Speaker 2 said. The conversation also noted that individual departments apply for grants; staff gave the Department of Justice-funded project associated with "Latifah" as an example and said some grant-funded posts sit outside civil service classifications. "So Latifah is a good example. So that's the DOJ grant. There is no civil service exam for, a director of a mayor's office to reduce gun violence," Speaker 3 said.

The participants also discussed reporting lines shown on the chart, including that the Deputy Mayor is referred to as the Chief of Staff in the budget book and that the law department maintains a separate budget. Speaker 2 said the Deputy Mayor remains responsible for the police and fire departments as reflected on the chart. The transcript includes a reference to "Greg Lowe is the Chief Policy Officer," which staff said is reflected on the organizational chart.

At the end of the discussion, Speaker 1 said, "So if there's any objection, I'll call this on." No objection was voiced before a motion and a second were recorded; the meeting moved on after the second, according to the transcript. The record does not include a formal roll-call vote or the exact motion text.

Staff said the back of the handout provides a department-by-department breakdown of salaries and fringe for positions paid through SERA, which participants said will help as they continue deliberations on departmental responsibilities and funding.

Hiring for the Syracuse Surge Manager position was described as in progress; no date or salary for that position was specified in the discussion.