The city’s Charter Commission has been granted an extension of time in which to complete its work according to a press release issued by the city’s spokeswoman yesterday.  The Commission was formed to review the structure of city government following concerns that former city manager Jon Jennings had too much decision making power with no accountability from city voters. At times it seemed that the city council was merely a puppet of his doing his bidding.  His public tenure was highlighted by  discord from the former Mayor Ethan Strimling whose agenda was pro-labor and more progressive than Jennings.   However, Jennings was known to be a popular boss at city hall. He left for a similar position in a larger city in Florida.  Perhaps Florida politics are more appealing to Jennings than Maine politics.

“Commissioners last week showed interest in having an elected mayor with more executive authority but struggled with whether they would want to remove the mayor from the City Council.  No decisions were made since this was the second workshop on this issue,” according to an article by Colin Ellis, titled “Charter Commission Nears Proposal to Empower Elected Mayor,” in the March 2, 2022 issue of the PORTLAND PHOENIX.

A preliminary report is now due on or bfore May 9th with a final report on July 11.

The Council also voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Kari L. Twaite, Associate Corporation Counsel.  Ms. Twaite will work at city hall on land use and regulatory matteers.  She holds active bar membership in Maine, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.  Her appointment becomes effective on March 14 and her annual salary will be $106,671.

Ms. Twaite is the third employee in Corporation Counsel’s office at city hall.  The city is looking to hire one more attorney for the office.

The next meeting of the Portland City Councill is on Monday, March 7 at 5:00 pm..