Monday's Meeting Features Reorg Plans

Some details of the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting are spelled out in the agenda for Monday's agenda-fixing session, but not the ones of highest interest - Mayor-elect Adrian Mapp's cabinet selections.

The meeting is 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave. See the agenda here

The annual reorganization will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 6 in Municipal Court. in a location to be announced. Mapp is expected to offer cabinet appointments at that time, including city administrator, three department heads, corporation counsel and, if Dec. 9 ordinances are in effect, a chief financial officer and chief of staff. Between now and then, the outgoing mayor may veto the ordinances and a super-majority of the City Council would then have to overturn the veto for the ordinances to stand. There might be other issues of timing that delay the appointments.

Cabinet appointments generally are made to be concurrent with a mayor's four-year term, although past mayors have started out with 90-day acting appointments. Mapp is currently a councilman representing the Third Ward and will have to step down as of Dec. 31. He has not yet resigned from that post, but when he does, the Democratic City Committee must offer the council three names from which the governing body will choose an appointee to serve until the Nov. 4, 2014 general election. Again, depending on timing of the process, the council could go into January with only six members, lacking a Third Ward representative and making confirmation of Mapp's appointees more likely to encounter tie votes.

Regardless of possible complications at the reorganization, Mapp has announced celebratory events on Jan. 1, including a ceremonial swearing-in at City Hall and a "The People's Inaugural," where he will greet the public and host  a "people's feast" in heated tents in the parking lot.

A resolution up for council approval on Jan. 6 appears to have public comment on resolutions and ordinances at both agenda-fixing and regular meetings. Council mavens have complained that in 2013 they were not permitted to speak on proposed resolutions and ordinances at the beginning of agenda-fixing sessions. Their concern was that they wanted the council to hear their views before deciding whether to move items to the agenda for regular meetings. The 2014 resolution would give citizens three minutes to speak on resolutions, motions and ordinances to be introduced on first reading prior to council deliberations. The other public comment portion allows five minutes per speaker at the end of the meeting.

--Bernice

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