Portland Courant

In Portland’s new form of government, the mayor will appoint a city administrator to manage the day-to-day operations of city government. This is a change from the current structure, where bureaus report to one of five city council offices.  

To support this new configuration, the City Organization project is developing a recommendation for a high-level reporting structure for the bureaus. The new structure will include logical groupings of bureaus and programs and will help the new administrator begin managing the structure effectively on their very first day. 

This spring and summer, Bureau and City leadership are partnering on a series of assessment conversations, informed by employee and community feedback, that will lead to the recommended high-level organizational chart. The Chief Administrative Office (CAO) will forward the final recommendation to City Council for consideration in October 2023.  

After the initial organizational structure decisions are made this fall, the project will shift to three areas of focus:

1. Technical implementation,
2. Managing and supporting City employees through the change, and
3. Continuing to identify future improvements to our service delivery.

Switching to a new structure will take time, but the new structure will be active by the time the new form of government takes effect in January 2025 – with a newly elected mayor, auditor and 12 new councilors.  

Looking ahead, another service delivery effort, known as the Future Improvements project, will share recommendations for improvements to our service delivery with the incoming elected officials and city leadership in early 2025. Recommendations will also be informed by input from current City leadership, employees, and community members.

Stay connected, attend a community workshop 

On June 22, the Government Transition Advisory Committee is hosting a community workshop. At the workshop, the City will ask for feedback about how to prioritize improvements the new form of government will need to consider over the next few years. The listening session will be held online. Learn more and sign up to attend at Community Workshop on City Organization & Future Improvements | Portland.gov 

Original source can be found here