Mayor, Councilman Differ on Home Rule Charter Change

CRANSTON,RI— Should City Council members be allowed to call department heads directly?

Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung doesn’t think so. And the City Charter forbids it. With a stiff penalty.

But that could change, depending on how a proposed resolution that would change the Home Rule Charter’s “noninterference in administrative matters” section fares at tonight’s City Council meeting.

The resolution, introduced by City Councilman Paul Archetto, would remove text that instructs council members to “deal with the administrative services of the city solely through the mayor” and if a violation occurs, the council member’s seat “may be declared vacant.”

Fung, in a statement, said that the proposed change is “nothing more than a blatant attempt to undermine the power of the executive branch and further dilute the management rights of the mayor in operating the city.”

Archetto, a frequent critic of the mayor, introduced a similar resolution last year and has said that the existing language is overly punitive and opens the door for accusations of interference whether they’re grounded in reality or not. The measure then failed 4-2 in subcommittee.

Archetto has also frequently complained about what he said has been less cooperation from the city than other council members favored by the administration, whether its where the city deployed its rodent control measures to which streets are at the top of the annual paving list.

According to Archetto’s resolution, “a council member may make a request for action or may request information from and provide information to any department head.”

A prohibition on council members giving orders would remain intact and the new penalty for a violation would be censure of the offending council member “by a majority vote of all the other council members, after a public hearing.”

Fung, in his statement, bashed Archetto for what amounts to a “power grab.”

“It is ironic that the sponsor of this bill is the same councilman that a few years ago during a blizzard, tried to commandeer an emergency vehicle from the police department in order for him to be driven around his ward. This is the type of power grab the charter was designed to prevent,” Fung said.