OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

The Mayor is the Chief Executive Officer of Harrisburg’s government. The post of Mayor is full-time and the Mayor is the sole appointing authority of all department and office directors as well as of the Mayor’s Office staff. Department heads must be confirmed by a majority of City Council before appointment is permanent. Senior City government officials, including department and office heads, comprise the Mayor’s Cabinet.

The Mayor has broad discretionary, executive and administrative authority under the provisions of the Third Class Optional City Code of Pennsylvania, the City’s Charter and the Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg, and the Mayor heads the Executive/Administrative Branch of City Government. The Mayor is automatically a member of several public or quasi-public boards of directors including the Tri-County Planning Commission, the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study Group (HATS), and the Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC). The Mayor is usually the sole appointing authority of members of twenty-four boards, commissions and authorities, with City Council confirmation required for most of these appointees.

The Mayor has broad policy-making authority and, by Executive Order or other action, can direct the use of municipal resources, including the setting of priorities for the use of resources. The Office of the Mayor can assume an initiative role in matters, projects and policies of a Citywide or regional nature. In the event of civil emergency or natural disaster, the Mayor, under state and City laws, has the sole authority to declare a state of emergency and to direct or redirect governmental and other response to such events.

Administratively, the Mayor has contracting authority, and no valid or binding contract involving the municipal government exists without the Mayor’s and City Controller’s signatures. Additionally, as a result of state law which took effect in December 2000, the Mayor is charged with the oversight of the Harrisburg City School District, the first Mayor’s Office in Pennsylvania history to be delegated such responsibility. The Mayor is the sole appointing authority of a five-member Board of Control, which serves as a school board, in administering the affairs of the district. The Mayor also exercises broad policy authority with regard to these duties.