Hales Makes Big Changes with City Bureau Assignments

CHARLIE'S COUNCIL: Portland City Council now consists of Mayor Charlie Hales (center) and city commissioners (from left) Steve Novick, Amanda Fritz, Dan Saltzman and Nick Fish.
By AARON MESH

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales scrambled the balance of power at City Hall with surprising bureau assignments this afternoon.

Hales officially distributed city bureaus today, after his office ran all 27 of them for the past five months. And as has been rumored for weeks, he shook up City Hall by giving no commissioner the same responsibilities they had before Hales took office. 

The mayor kept 10 bureaus for himself, including a newly created, informal office to oversee the Willamette River Superfund cleanup.

And he handed out power only with responsibility: His bureau assignments come with mandates for commissioners to meet pointed goals, from reducing the city's carbon footprint to assuring every hiring process includes one minority candidate.

Here are the bureau assignments:

Mayor Charlie Hales
* Portland Police Bureau
* Portland Development Commission
* Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
* Office of Neighborhood Involvement
* Office of Equity and Human Rights
* Office of Management and Finance
* Office of Government Relations
* City Attorney
* City Budget Office
* Oversight of the Willamette River Super Fund clean-up project.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman
* Bureau of Housing
* Bureau of Fire & Rescue
* Gateway Domestic Violence Center
* Portland Children's Investment Fund (Children's Levy)
* Liaison to the League of Oregon Cities; Travel Portland; Visitors Development Fund; and Home Forward
Commissioner Nick Fish
* Bureau of Environmental Services
* Water Bureau
* Regional Arts and Culture Council
* Liaison to Elders in Action; Regional Water Consortium Board; Venture Portland; Water Quality Advisory Committee; and Portland Utility Review Board
Commissioner Amanda Fritz
* Bureau of Parks & Recreation
* Bureau of Development Services
* Liaison to Royal Rosarians; BDS Adjustment Committee; Building Board of Appeals; County Animal Control
Commissioner Steve Novick
* Bureau of Transportation
* Bureau of Emergency Management
* Bureau of Emergency Communications
* Liaison to: Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT); Portland Streetcar Inc.; Regional Emergency Management Group; BOEC Users Group; BOEC Finance Committee; Taxi Cab Board of Review; Towing Board of Review

WWeek 2015

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