Malden Ordinance Committee to Review Mayor's Reorganization Plan

The Malden Ordinance Committee is expected to review Mayor Gary Christenson's proposal to combine three city functions into one unit for efficiency reasons at their Tuesday night session at City Hall.

The goal of the proposal is to make the city’s delivery of services more efficient in areas of economic development, planning and parking.

The mayor's proposal, which he presented to the City Council at their meeting on Sept. 24, calls for the Malden Redevelopment Authority, City Planner and the mayor's Business Development Officer to join together as part of a new "Office of Strategic Planning and Economic Development." The council referred the matter to the Ordinance Committee.

"One of the things we've been trying to do in the first two years (of my term) is to reorganize some of our departments," Christenson said on Monday afternoon. "In order for us to move forward I think we're going to have to work from within. For instance, last year we combined Board of Health, Building Inspections and Planning.

"Last year we combined the Department of Public Works and the Traffic Department."

In 2012, the city also outsourced worker's compensation services, according to the mayor. 

"Right now we have some services being offered in different departments and we're talking about combining them to try and become more efficient," Christenson said. "Same with parking. Right now there is a function out of the treasurer's office, function out of the Police Department, function out of the Malden Redevelopment Authority so we're thinking about restructuring that so it becomes more of a priority for our city." 

The mayor has proposed creating a new Parking Department to include four elements of parking that currently operate independently, according to a city press statement. 

"This new department will be responsible for the oversight and management of the parking garages, on-street parking enforcement, parking meter management, and the residential parking permit program," reads the statement.

Once the Ordinance Committee has finished reviewing the proposal they will refer it back to the City Council for a vote.