Commission considers removing council's 14‑day disapproval window for mayor's chief of staff and updating donation/printing rules

The Charter Revision Commission debated changes to the mayor's office provisions on June 3, focusing on whether the city charter should allow the City Council a two‑thirds disapproval within 14 days of the mayor's chief‑of‑staff appointment and whether the city should drop a hard printing requirement for the annual report.

Mayor (addressing the commission) said the chief of staff is an executive hire and that the 14‑day, two‑thirds disapproval mechanism is impractical and could allow a legislative majority from a different party to frustrate an incoming mayor's staffing choices. "I don't understand why legislative body can then come in and opine the mayor's chief of staff pick," the mayor said, urging the commission to consider striking the disapproval clause and to treat the chief of staff as an executive function.

Commissioners, including the Chair, agreed the point was well taken and signaled they would draft language to remove the disapproval sentence and reflect the appointment as an executive decision.

On donations and the city's annual report, the mayor and staff explained that the charter currently requires reporting and thresholds that reflected past dollar values: $1,000 in 2009 has far less purchasing power today. The administration noted printing the annual report cost roughly $8,000 last year and proposed retaining a requirement that the report be made available but removing the mandatory print specification; they also suggested raising the automatic‑reporting/acceptance threshold (examples discussed included $5,000).

Economic and equity implications: Commissioners expressed concern about ensuring access for residents who prefer printed material (senior center distribution was discussed) while reducing unnecessary printing costs. The commission agreed to revise the charter language to make availability flexible (online with printed copies provided upon request) and to align donation thresholds with a clearer benchmark; formal wording will be drafted by council for review.

Next steps: The commission asked staff to draft replacement language that treats the chief‑of‑staff appointment as an executive function, to align donation thresholds with current values, and to remove the printing mandate while ensuring the report remains available.