Report to the New York City Charter Review Commission

"The New York City Charter is, in essence, the City's constitution. It assigns responsibility for all municipal functions among the elected officials and entities of the City government. These responsibilities include budget, land use, legislation, as well as the provision of the full range of government services, such as sanitation, homeless services, health care, elder care and policing. They also include oversight of the City government itself. In 1989, New York City voters adopted a new City Charter, instituting sweeping changes in the structure of our City government. The new Charter provided for a strong executive, but also transferred substantial new responsibilities from the Board of Estimate to the New York City Council. This Report makes recommendations to the 2010 Charter Commission for changes to the City's Charter. Many individuals, including elected officials, have provided the Commission with meritorious proposals, some of which are mirrored in this Report. The scope, breadth and complexity of these proposals strongly suggest that the work on Charter reform should continue beyond this year. The recommendations contained in this Report will, the Council believes, provide for greater community participation in the government, bring more transparency to the work of the City government, and strengthen accountability of, and in turn the public's confidence in, City government."