The new city council will be more hands-off, focused on helping people in their districts and setting city policy, not running bureaus or departments.
PORTLAND, Ore. — This week, The Story went over the new roles of the mayor and city administrator after the November election. The next in the chain of hierarchy will be the newly expanded city council.
Starting in January, the council members will be councilors rather than commissioners, which means they will not run any departments or bureaus — widely considered to be a big part of the city’s dysfunction under the old system. The hope with this new council structure is to make that dysfunction a thing of the past.
Under Portland’s new charter, approved by voters, the new city council will be more hands-off than before and focused on helping people in their districts and setting city policy. They will act sort of like a legislative body.
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