Office Of The Mayor
Thomas M. McMahon


PRESS RELEASE

For More Info Contact:
Leon Churchill  610-655-6022
Cindy Heminitz 610-655-6234

Mayor McMahon And Managing Director Churchill Announce Plan For Administration Reorganization

February 11, 2008: Mayor Thomas McMahon, Mayor of the City of Reading, Pennsylvania and Leon Churchill, Managing Director of the City of Reading, Pennsylvania today announced a reorganization plan for City administration, which will be effective upon City Council approval.

The reorganization will be submitted to City Council in the form of an ordinance on
February 11, 2008, with the hope that it is adopted on February 25, 2008.  That will set the stage for the City’s compliance with the Commonwealth Court’s decision on Adam Mukerji and City of Reading v. City of Reading Charter Review Board Commonwealth Court nos. 743 CD 2007 and 808 CD 2007.  The plan decreases the number of people reporting to the Managing Director and allocates various functions within existing departments or agencies.

“This is complete compliance and creates finality as to residency,” stated Leon Churchill.   “It is essential to create an environment in which the City’s work gets done. Unfortunately, this episode will make the organization more bureaucratic and makes nimbleness and responsiveness more difficult,” he added.

The reorganization allocates Mr. Mukerji and a portion of economic development functions to the Reading Redevelopment Authority – a separate legal entity dedicated to development.  The City approved the move as part of its 2008 budget, but the RRA needs to agree to the move with an updated service agreement.  The City’s Customer Service Center and Information Technology are allocated to the Finance Department, Human Relations is allocated to Human Resources, and the Codes Department and the Office of Neighborhood Development are allocated to the Police Department.  A service agreement with the Library Foundation will have to be created by the City in to bring that operation in compliance with the intent of the Commonwealth Court’s decision.