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Mayor Martin J.
Walsh Announces Cabinet Reorganization
New
structure aligns with Mayor Walsh’s vision for efficiency,
collaboration, and improved delivery of services
(Boston- January 29, 2014) Mayor Martin J.
Walsh today unveiled his plans for a comprehensive reorganization of
the cabinets and departments of the City of Boston. [Organizational
chart attached. You can also view it here: http://bit.ly/orgbos.]
“Our role as a government is to improve people’s lives, and the
purpose of this reorganization is to better deliver services to the
people of Boston,” Mayor Walsh said. “As a new administration
serving a changing city, we’ve had an opportunity to take a good
hard look at what worked, what could work better, and make changes
to become more efficient and improve outcomes for the people we
serve.”
The structure will include 12 cabinets: Arts & Culture; Chief of
Staff; Economic Development; Education; Environment, Energy & Open
Space; Finance & Budget; Health & Human Services; Housing &
Neighborhood Development; Information & Technology; Operations &
Administration; Public Safety; and Streets, Transportation &
Sanitation. The leadership team will also include, ex officio, the
Corporation Counsel, Chief of Policy, and Chief Communications
Officer. With this reorganization, two cabinets have been
consolidated: Advocacy & Strategic Investment, and Public Property.
Departments previously under these cabinets have been realigned
within the new structure.
Improving Delivery of Services
Many of the changes to the cabinet are intended to streamline
services and improve collaboration among departments with common
goals. The cabinet of Streets, Transportation & Sanitation, for
example, will better align operations of the Department of Public
Works, the Boston Transportation Department and Boston Water &
Sewer, departments that frequently work together in different
capacities.
Elevating the Arts
The Arts & Culture cabinet will be a partner in all creative,
economic and tourism discussions and initiatives. The addition of
this cabinet fulfills Mayor Walsh’s pledge to create a vehicle
through which the City can work to increase diversity and inclusion,
seek grants and sponsorship opportunities, and secure funding and
support for Boston’s arts community.
Economic Development
The creation of the Economic Development cabinet is the first step
in a broad effort to streamline and support the areas of focus that
contribute to Boston’s economy, including tourism, jobs and
employment, businesses development, and real estate development.
Mayor Walsh has consistently emphasized the need for increased
transparency and accessibility for all Bostonians – especially
women- and minority-owned businesses, and local businesses – to
share in and benefit from the economic boom in Boston.
Process
The cabinet review and restructure began in the transition period,
as Mayor Walsh worked closely with the Transition Committee
co-chairs to seek input from Transition Committee members, Boston
residents and businesses, and other stakeholders. Over the course of
the transition and the early weeks of the administration, Mayor
Walsh received input internally, through the web, phone calls and
meetings, and a number of public hearings.
Looking ahead, there may be additional organizational changes and
consolidation at the department level. The cabinet changes will be
implemented over the coming months; some changes will be reflected
in the upcoming fiscal year budget, but the timeframe for some
changes will be influenced by current vacancies and the timing of
audits and studies on the reform of an agency (e.g., the Boston
Redevelopment Authority).
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