The San Francisco call., 1910-09-29
new CHARTER IS
NEAR COMPLETION
Commission Plan of Government
Will Be Submitted to the
Voters Soon

OAKLAND, Sept. 2S.-With one week
remaining of the statutory time, the
board of charter freeholders entered
in earnest tonight on the final work of
revising permanently the provisions
which they have embodied in the in
strument which is to become the or
ganic law of the city. The completed
charter must be filed with the city
clerk next Tuesday, October 4, and will
be submitted TO the voters sometime
after November Is.
The nature of the city government
under the new charter is now definite.
The legislative and principal admin
istratiVe functions will be vested in
the five commissioners, one of whom
viii be mayor of the city and head
of the department of public affairs.
The other commissioners viii head the
departments of revenue and finance,
public health and safety, streets and
public works. The mayor will be
elected as such, but the commissioners
will not run for the office of any par
ticular department. They will be
elected simply as commissioners, to be
assigned after election.
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
The school department will be more
closely affiliated with the commission
or council than under the existing
regime. The commissioner of revenue
and finance will be eXoff1cio' member
of the board of education. There will
be six other school directors, to be
elected at large. They will have en-
tire direction of the educational de-
partment, and will be advised in finan-
cial matters by the commissioner of
finance.
Only one other public official will be
elective. This is the auditor He will
be assigned to the department of rev.
enue and finance, but will not be ans
vera bic to the council or to the COM
missioner of revenue, as would an ap-
pointive officer.
The city treasurer, also assigned to
the department of revenue and finance,
will be appointed. The council will
make the appointment, the mayor hav-
ing his voice as a commissioner only.
SEVERAL COMMISSIONS
There are several auxiliary commits
sions or boards provided, the most i'm
portant being the civil service COM
mission. The members will be ap-
pointed by the mayor for Is year
terms, subject to removal only by vote
Of four commissioners. Appointments
and promotions in the police and fire
1 departments may be made by the COM
missioner of public health and safety
from a llSt Supplleu by the CIVIL SerN-
ice board. After members of these
departments have served their proba-
tionary period, they can not be dis
charged arbitrarily by the commits
sioner on recommendation of the chiefs
of the. departments: they must be re-
leased by three commissioners. These
provisions are made to take the fire
and police departments out of politics
AS far as is practicable, they will OBJ
tain in all branches of the city govern
ment for clerks and deputies
There will be park commission ano
playground commission similar to those
now in office in the city government
These officials will be appointed.
PROVIDES FOR RECALL
The charter provides a recall, initia-
tive, referendum and nonpartisan elec.
/ tions Percentages for the recall, fol
forcing a referendum, and for initial
| ing legislation. will be finally fixed
this week. Minor provisions for the
safeguarding to the people of these
tonight, and within a day the charter
will be completed in these particulars
The number of signatures necessary
! to institute a recall election agains
any public official was fixed tonight a
| 5000. The recall petitions, to be signed
\ by voters, must contain statement il
/ 200 words of the charge on which tht
recall movement is based. Beside this
! statement must appear in the sam,
/ length the officials defense. The ad
vice of Prof William Carey Jones
4 through Freeholder William c. Clark
was that the percentage under thes,
conditions should not be above Is pei
cent. The required number is about II
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