South Charlotte Today

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles announced Tuesday new Charlotte City Council committees.

As part of the City Council's constant improvement process, and to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing, all committees will meet the first Monday of each month. On the first Monday evening of each month, the meeting of the full City Council will focus on committee topics and discussions. New committees will meet for the first time on Oct. 3.

As committees set policy and provide guidance to the city manager to support smart growth, address key strategic areas and meet resident needs, several committees have been combined to create a more holistic and horizontally-aligned approach.

The overarching goals of these changes are to:

• Reflect that many of the policy challenges facing the city are interrelated.
• Continue becoming a body and an organization that operate horizontally across disciplines to best meet the needs of the Charlotte community.
• Provide council members opportunities for robust discussion in committees, and as a full body about committee recommendations.
• Move issues to action.

The Safe Communities and Great Neighborhoods committees have been combined into the Housing, Safety and Community Committee. The Budget and Governance and Intergovernmental Relations committees have been combined into the Budget, Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The Economic Development Committee is now the Jobs and Economic Development Committee. The Transportation and Planning Committee is now the Transportation, Planning and Development Committee.

"These changes reflect the interconnected nature of our work and the recognition that many of our most pressing challenges, such as creating safe communities, cut across several disciplines and require a multidisciplinary approach," Lyles said. "Council members and staff have strived over the past five years to work more horizontally to design policies and programs in a way that acknowledges and is inclusive of our priorities as a community. It is important to note that equity, engagement and the environment are woven into everything we do, not assigned to one committee, and should be a core focus in all of our work, across all committees."

The new committees, members and focus areas are listed below:

Budget, Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee

• Reviews and recommends policies to fund community priorities, to optimize uses of public resources, and to collaborate with other government partners.
• Members: Dimple Ajmera, chair; James Mitchell, vice chair; Danté Anderson; Tariq Bokhari; LaWana Mayfield.

Jobs and Economic Development Committee

• Reviews and recommends policies that promote workforce development, economic opportunities and business growth.
• Members: Malcolm Graham, chair; Ed Driggs, vice chair; Dimple Ajmera; Victoria Watlington; Marjorie Molina.

Housing, Safety and Community Committee

• Reviews and recommends policies to provide for safe and affordable housing, to engage the community, to increase safety and to promote equity.
• Members: Victoria Watlington, chair; LaWana Mayfield, vice chair; Tariq Bokhari; Reneé Johnson; Marjorie Molina.

Transportation, Planning and Development Committee

• Reviews and recommends policies designed to promote mobility, environmental stewardship and planned growth.
• Members: Ed Driggs, chair; Danté Anderson, vice chair; Malcolm Graham; Reneé Johnson; James Mitchell.

Original source can be found here.