Incoming City Council President Bill Gulliford will create a task force to review "all aspects of consolidation" of City government to determine if changes are needed.
Council member Lori Boyer will lead the citizen-driven group that Gulliford said will comprise up to 30 members of the public who will study the issue and make recommendations for legislative action at the end of a nine-month review.
If City Charter changes are needed, Gulliford said the group could make suggestions for a possible referendum.
"It's been 45 years come this October and we really haven't given it an in-depth look," Gulliford told Boyer during Thursday's noticed meeting.
The review will include the City's relationship with its independent authorities, City ordinance code related to consolidation and overall "what works, what doesn't and what can be improved," Gulliford said.
Gulliford told Boyer over the Council's July 1-12 summer break, he will create suggested parameters, targets and questions to provide preliminary guidance, though he expects the scope to expand "light years" when citizen input begins and the impact to be "very, very significant."
"Honestly, I have been amazed at the enthusiasm met with people who want to jump on board," he said.
Boyer said, after the meeting, she will review Mayor Alvin Brown's transition reports because some of the work possibly was done in that process. She also will review historical information about consolidation and study what parts of the City ordinance code intermingles with the Charter.
Gulliford said he has ideas for some of the task force members and asked Boyer to begin thinking of potential members. He said he hoped to see a diverse group involved and include members from the nonprofit and business communities, as well as those who aren't in agreement with how consolidation has worked.
"It's going to be work and we have to expect that those on it are going to do work and do work outside those meetings," Boyer said.
She said she would expect the group to meet at least every two weeks.
The task force will be bound by the state Sunshine Law, meaning discussions and meetings will be public.
Gulliford suggested that an educational series of meetings could lead to subcommittees that focus on specific topics, similar to the structure of a Council Special Committee on Solid Waste he chaired.
He said he hoped to hear "passionate debate and discord" to spur any changes for the better and said during the meeting he could have created "100 questions about consolidation" he would be interested in, such as questioning the need for 19 Council members.
Gulliford and Boyer will again meet after the Council break to further solidify the task force and its scope.
"It will be absolutely intriguing as a process and rewarding as an outcome," Gulliford said.
He will talk about the task force during his comments at 4 p.m. today at the Council leadership installation ceremony, where he will be sworn in as Council president for the 2013-14 year that begins Monday.
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If you go…
What: City Council Officer Installation Ceremony
When: 4 p.m. today
Where: Council Chamber at City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.
City Council members Bill Gulliford and Clay Yarborough will be installed as Council leadership for the 2013-14 year that begins Monday. Gulliford will be installed as president; Yarborough as vice president. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit coj.net.