The committee considered Ordinance 12 26-2025, a reorganization introduced by Councilmembers Harrison and Griffin to rename the Department of Economic Development the Department of Development and consolidate city real-estate functions under a new land strategy office.

Chief McNair and Director Bordeaux-Small outlined goals: create a clearer "front door" for developers and residents seeking land or incentives, consolidate dispersed land-bank and asset-redevelopment functions, and centralize project management to increase accountability and speed. They said the proposal moves 18 positions (14 filled today) from Community Development to the new department using existing federal funding where possible, and creates five net new general-fund positions (including a deputy director of land strategy, a GIS specialist, two accounting roles and a real-estate analyst) with an estimated 2025 general-fund impact of about $700,000.

The presenters emphasized what the ordinance does not do: it does not change land-bank policy or remove council oversight. They said the reorg grew from an Ernst & Young operational strategic plan and included staff engagement—eight focus groups, an internal real-estate working group—and investments in technology, notably Salesforce and DocuSign, to support CRM, KPI tracking and cross-department workflows. Staff committed to building dashboards and KPIs that council can review; a Salesforce buildout target of Q2–Q3 next year was discussed.

Committee members pressed on several policy points: Councilmembers asked how Community Development would continue to function without a current director, whether CDBG reliance poses a fiscal risk given recent federal timing of allocations, how land-bank proceeds will be handled and whether funds should be sequestered or routed to the general fund, and how neighborhood-focused work would continue to be prioritized. Trudy Andreski and the presenters explained that HUD rules require certain proceeds be held in separate special revenue funds; they cited an expected ~$600,000 in current land-bank revenue and described examples of eligible uses (site prep, surveys, homeowner supports and small-scale activation of lots). Legal counsel and finance input were cited in support of the fund-structure approach.

Councilman Harsh offered a package of amendments to clarify fund numbers (creating a residential land-bank special revenue fund SF964 and keeping the industrial/commercial fund SF965), authorize the director of finance to transfer up to $450,000 from a Community Development fund to fund a Home Program, renumber sections and set an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026. The package was seconded and adopted on voice vote; Councilwoman House Jones recorded a dissenting "no." Chief McNair and Director Bordeaux-Small pledged to work closely with council staff to develop policy details and KPIs as the reorganization moves to the Finance Committee.

Next steps: Ordinance 12 26-2025 as amended will proceed to the Finance Committee for budgetary review and then return for final council action.