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Commission adopts civil‑service renumbering and limits mayor’s unclassified appointment scope
Summary
The Charter Revision Commission approved non‑substantive renumbering and typographical edits to the civil‑service chapter, added the Office of Municipal Ethics director to a personnel list, and amended mayoral appointment language to confine unclassified appointments to the mayor and chief administrative officer’s offices.
The Charter Revision Commission on Aug. 21 voted to adopt renumbering and typographical edits to chapter 17 (civil service), and approved related changes clarifying which mayoral appointees are considered unclassified.
Commission action: The commission accepted the staff/attorney edits in blue (renumbering and typographical changes) to chapter 17 and added a new listing for the director of the Office of Municipal Ethics under section 5.b. A voice vote carried the motion.
Mayoral appointments: Commissioners also amended chapter 4 to clarify that, "Subject to the availability of funds, the mayor may appoint such positions in the office of the mayor or the chief administrative office which the mayor shall deem reasonably necessary for the operations and functions of said offices." That change was adopted by voice vote. The effect is to identify a bounded class of unclassified appointees (those working in the mayor’s or CAO’s offices) while leaving the bulk of classified positions subject to civil‑service protections.
Why it matters: The changes aim to reconcile prior charter language that courts and counsel had found ambiguous—simultaneously preserving mayoral flexibility to appoint senior, at‑will staff in top offices while preventing a blanket bypass of civil‑service protections across city government.
Next steps: Staff will update cross‑references in the draft charter (chapter 17) to reflect the new unclassified appointment language and circulate the final redlines for review before the commission’s next meeting.
