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Phila. voters approve changes to city charter
Voters yesterday approved two changes to the city's Home Rule Charter that Mayor Nutter has pushed as part of his agenda.
Contact staff writer Jeff Shields at 215-854-4565 or jshields@phillynews.com.
Both ballot questions passed by wide margins.
The first ballot asked for a charter change to redefine the Office of the City Representative. Nutter appointed his campaign spokeswoman, Melanie Johnson, to that position, and he wants the office to serve as the chief promoter and event-planner for city government.
Formerly combined with the position of commerce director, the city representative becomes part of the mayor's cabinet, along with the managing director, finance director, commerce director and city solicitor.
The second question sought an amendment to do away with charter rule that each department can have only two deputies appointed by the mayor and exempt from Civil Service requirements.
The change allows up to 10 deputies per department, and up to four can be hired from outside the city. Nutter said department heads, especially the police commissioner, need the option of hiring top-level managers who are accountable to them. Current Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and former Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson supported the change.
The four municipal unions, representing police, fire, and white- and blue-collar government workers, opposed the change, saying it would undercut the Civil Service system.
Contact staff writer Jeff Shields at 215-854-4565 or jshields@phillynews.com.
