Annapolis City Council brings back the Department of Central Services

The Annapolis City Council passed legislation Monday night re-establishing the Department of Central Services, which will oversee government properties.

The department was removed from the City Charter in July 2011, which effectively shuttered it, according to the legislative summary.

Now, the city must hire a director to oversee the department, which is set to manage “the city’s procurement, facilities management, and general fleet operation,” the legislative summary says. These duties were previously split between the Finance and Public Works departments.

The Department of Central Services is moving 18 employees currently working for the Public Works and Finance departments under one roof. Those employees will be overseen by a new department head with an operating budget of about $616,100. The cost will be a part of the city’s recently approved $191 million budget.

The department will be in charge of building maintenance and management of the city’s fleet of vehicles — excluding those belonging to the police and fire departments. Oversight of the city’s television studio, which was originally supposed to fall under the Department of Central Services, will remain with the mayor’s office.

Other business

The council is scheduled to vote on a final draft of Annapolis Ahead 2040, a comprehensive plan of how the city should develop land over the next two decades, on July 8. No other work session will take place before the vote, according to Eric Leshinsky, chief comprehensive planner for Annapolis.

The city started work on the more than 450-page document in February. Since its introduction, the plan has evolved to include public safety and the growing senior population, among other things.

There are goals related to public water access, public and private transit, affordable housing and making the city resilient to rising sea levels.

The meeting on July 8 will be the second-to-last council meeting before the council breaks for the traditional August recess.