The following is a press release from the City:
Annapolis Mayor Michael Pantelides announces his proposal to reorganize and realign several city offices and departments in an effort to improve the efficiency of services provided to the citizens of Annapolis.
“This proposed realignment is based in part on last year’s adoption of the Program Based Budgeting process by the City Council,” Mayor Pantelides said. “The logic behind the reorganization is that the budget process works best when program responsibilities and content are contained in a single, organized unit.”
As part of the reorganization, Mayor Pantelides proposes to transfer the Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs (DNEP) and its functions to several departments including Planning and Zoning, Public Works and Annapolis Police. In turn, an Office of Environmental Policy would be created under the Office of the Mayor to oversee urban forestry, environmental grants, policy development, and compliance coordination among other matters.
Meanwhile, the office of Management Information Technology (MIT) will be directed by the City Manager, rather than the Finance Director. This move will better reflect MIT’s mission as an office that works for all levels of city government and one that works with volunteers, businesses, and residents.
Also, The Department of Human Resources (HR) will no longer remain a department, but will merge with the Finance Department and become the “Department of Finance and Administration” which is an organizational model employed by many small to mid-size city governments. The proposal is to consolidate the HR function and existing staff within the Finance Department to provide additional support and coordination in several areas including benefit administration, payroll and Workers’ Compensation. The HR Director position, which is currently vacant, would be abolished.
“There are several benefits associated with adopting this proposal,” City Manager Tom Andrews said. “Some of those benefits include making authority and accountability more direct and transparent, creating a more understandable government operation, streamlining permitting functions, establishing priorities and funding requirements in the budget, reducing costs, and creating more efficient ways to deliver services.”
The mayor’s proposal will be introduced on first reader to City Council at the February 22nd meeting.
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