Mayor Lenny Curry is putting his stamp on how to run the day-to-day city operations.
Curry filed legislation last week seeking major reorganization of the executive branch that includes the recreation of a Neighborhoods Department and consolidation of other departments.
Some form of reorganization is typical with new administrations. Former Mayor Alvin Brown initiated two phases, some of what he organized is being undone — namely, the return of Neighborhoods and dissolving of an education officer and Office of Public-Private Partnerships.
Some of the changes Curry is seeking in his reorganization:
• The return of the Neighborhoods Department. This will operate under the chief administrative officer Sam Mousa and contain a re-established Housing and Community Development Division — the “direct link” to city neighborhoods. The department also would house the City Link /630-CITY office and several moved departments offices like the Regulatory Compliance, Municipal Code Compliance, Environmental Quality, Mosquito Control and Animal Care and Protective Services.
• An abolished Intra-governmental Services Department. The Information Technologies, Procurement and Fleet Management divisions would be shifted to a reformed Finance and Administration Department reporting to Chief Financial Officer Mike Weinstein. The Equal Business Opportunity Office and ombudsman would be offices under Procurement. Vehicle inspection functions of the Office of Public Parking would shift to Fleet Management, while the rest of Public Parking would go under the Downtown Investment Authority. The Office of Grants and Compliance would also head to finance.
• The Office of Economic Development and Office of Sports and Entertainment are taken down a notch. Instead of being direct reports to the mayor, they would be abolished as agencies and re-established as offices under Mousa.
• While Brown’s education and public-private partnerships officers would be eliminated, several new priorities would be formalized. The Office of Blight Initiative would operate under the chief administrative officer and establish citywide programs and initiatives. And a philanthropic officer and data management and analysis officer would be created under the direction of Curry’s chief of staff, Kerri Stewart. The philanthropic officer would coordinate and implement strategies to attract donors to support government activities, while the data management officer would use available city data for strategic planning.
The reorganization will “improve operational efficiency, enhance administrative oversight and provide improved fiduciary responsibility,” according to corresponding documents.
There also would be no change in the number of current authorized positions and any potential cost savings are “insignificant.”
The bill will be introduced Tuesday to City Council.
@staffwriter
(904) 356-2466