Change City Charter

The current governing structure presents two competing visions: one from the Mayor and the other from the President of the Board of Aldermen. It is challenging for City voters to evaluate performance with this overly complicated system of governance. Let's see if we collective can do better by changing the City Charter as needed to complete the following:

• Eliminate the Estimates & Apportionment Committee
• Eliminate the President of the Board of Aldermen, an elected position
• Eliminate the Comptroller elected position
• The mayor chairs Board of Aldermen meetings, names committee chairs, and assigns work to committees. The mayor can continue to veto legislation, and that veto can be overridden with a majority vote from the Board of Aldermen.
• The mayor appoints a city manager with the approval of the majority of the Board of Aldermen.
• The mayor appoints a Financial Director, with the approval of the majority of the Board of Aldermen, who handles all financial matters on behalf of the City. A Comptroller with current CPA licensing will report to the Financial Director. The Comptroller will perform audits within the City.
• The Mayor will reorganize staff positions within the City Manager, Mayor, and Board staff without adding new positions. If prudent, positions will be eliminated.