Council President Gregory Creates a Citizen Commission to Study the Future Structure and Organization of Wilmington City Council
Gregory says it is time to look again at the size and functions of future City Councils based on the City’s population and citizen needs
Wilmington City Council has given its approval to a proposal by Council President Theo Gregory’s that a five-member citizen commission conduct a comprehensive study of the future structure and operations of the Wilmington City Council. Gregory said the last time such a review of Council was conducted was nearly 30 years ago when the 1987 Council Compensation Commission recommended a defined compensation plan for citizens who are elected as Members of City Council. That same Commission also recommended that the number of Council seats be reduced to reflect the change in the City’s population since 1960.
Council Councils have used the Commission’s compensation plan as a guide periodically since 1987 to adjust the salaries of the Council President and the twelve district and at-large Council Members who are part-time employees of City government. The 13-member Council is currently comprised of a President and four At-Large Members who are elected to represent the entire City and eight Council Members who are elected to represent the interests of citizens residing in their respective Council Districts.
“We need to transform City government by taking a hard look at what we are doing and how we are doing it,” said Gregory. “The Commission’s recommendations could create an opportunity to reduce the cost and size of government, create more government transparency, and most importantly, help elected officials be more responsive to the needs of the people they represent.”
Gregory said he will soon appoint the five members of the Council Organization Commission (COC) who will be City residents who are not currently holding public office and/or seeking public office. Gregory said the COC will be charged with making recommendations to City Council on issues which include:
- the appropriate number of Council Members based on Wilmington’s current and historic population totals, as well as on the overall needs of City residents
- the appropriate number of district and at-large Council positions
- whether the Council President position should continue to be a part-time position or should become a full-time position with appropriate compensation
- the reasonableness of establishing staggered Council terms of office (currently, all 13 members of Council are elected every four years to serve a four-year term)
- other Council-related issues that the Commission may determine need study
Gregory said the Commission is charged with issuing its report within 180 days of when the Commission convenes. That means the report will, in all likelihood, be presented to the next President and Members of Council who take office in January of 2017 as the 107th Session of the Wilmington City Council. Any Commission recommendation that is accepted and enacted by the 107th Council Session would not become effective until January of 2021 when the 108th Session of City Council convenes.
For more information about this news release, contact:
John Rago
Communications and Policy Development Director
Wilmington City Council
Phone: (302) 576-2149
Mobile: (302) 420-7928
Email: jrago@WilmingtonDE.gov