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Salisbury council signals support to amend charter and city code to clarify administrator's chain of command
Summary
The council agreed Oct. 6 to pursue charter and code changes to give the city administrator flexibility over department reporting lines and to formalize deputy and assistant administrator roles.
The Salisbury City Council agreed Oct. 6 to move forward with charter and code updates that would give the city administrator discretion to determine departmental reporting lines and formally recognize deputy and assistant administrator roles.
Administration told the work session the charter language is currently specific about which departments report to the deputy administrator and that creates unnecessary rigidity when department names or organization change. Under the proposed amendment to SC 4-1 and Article 16, the charter would say the city administrator, with mayoral approval, will determine strategic and operational needs and who reports to the administrator or deputy. A corresponding municipal code change (Chapter 2.12.0.04) would update the director of infrastructure and development's reporting line to the city administrator.
City staff described the assistant city administrator role as a project-focused position to carry special projects and coordinate across departments; the deputy administrator would act in the administrator's absence and handle supervisory and administrative duties. Council members asked administration to provide a clear written layout of which departments would report to each title under the proposed structure and requested a document they could use for constituent guidance.
Council members expressed support for flexibility while pressing for transparency. Councilmember comments noted the need to track how public contacts and constituent concerns would flow under the new structure. Administration said departments expected to report directly to the city administrator under the initial arrangement included police, fire, infrastructure and development, waterworks, finance and procurement, with other offices such as communications and field operations also coordinated.
Council recorded consensus to pursue charter amendments and the related code changes and asked staff to provide a written implementation chart showing reports and points of contact.
