Join the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) for a free lunchtime webinar, “Designing City Governments for Success,” on Wednesday, May 24, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. CST. During this Zoom webinar, you can:
- Learn about the governing structures used in other large U.S. cities.
- Hear from a panel of experts on how the basic arrangement of powers and duties within a large city’s government shapes its ability to deliver services and infrastructure effectively.
- Learn how cities with strong mayor governments, such as New Orleans, can manage the benefits and risks of that form of government, and what the main alternative – a council-manager government – has to offer.
BGR’s panel will feature two national experts on municipal forms of government, Dr. Kimberly Nelson of the University of North Carolina’s School of Government and Dr. Jered Carr of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. To offer local perspective, the panel will also feature David Marcello, executive director of The Public Law Center at Tulane University Law School. Mr. Marcello chaired the 1994-95 advisory committee that undertook the only comprehensive revision of New Orleans’ Home Rule Charter (City Charter) since its 1954 launch.
BGR has no current position on possible future changes to the City Charter. However, our report last fall on the City Charter amendment to require City Council confirmation of the mayor’s appointments of City department heads and certain other administrators raised questions among members of the public about choices in the City’s form of government and the implications of those. Because of that interest, BGR put together this webinar.
Registration for this Zoom webinar is free to the public. Click the buttons below to reserve your spot and to read BGR’s introduction to the topic and why it matters to citizens.