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Portland Charter Commission approves final report to restructure city government

Voters will ultimately have the final say in November on whether to give the mayor more power.

PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland Charter Commission voted Wednesday night to unanimously approve its final report.

The more than 100-page report, including 13 proposed changes, comes after months of review and debate amongst the elected commissioners. 

“Congratulations," Michael Kebede, chair of the commission, said. "We have completed the biggest part of our work."

The biggest proposed change is aimed at shifting significant responsibilities from the city manager, an appointed position, to the city mayor, an elected one. This shift in power has garnered significant attention. 

The title of city manager would become "chief administrator" under the new proposal.

In addition, the change would give the mayor power over a number of key issues, including the city budget and hiring of city staff.

The effort has faced a lot of pushback from current Portland Mayor Kate Snyder and a number of previous mayors. 

The report also seeks to increase the size of the city council to 12 members.

The 12-0 vote brought a large sense of relief from the commissioner Wednesday night.

"Thank you all," Commissioner Shay Stewart-Bouley said. "I didn't agree with you all, but thank you for the energy, the passion. It's been a beautiful experience."

The final report will be submitted to city councilors next week. 

It will ultimately be up to the voters what changes will be implemented in November. 

RELATED: $18 Minimum wage among citizen initiatives Portland voters will decide on

RELATED: Portland one step closer to expanding mayoral powers

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