Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 3-100 Executive and Administrative Officers, Departments, Boards, Commissions and Agencies Designated.
§ 3-100. Executive and Administrative Officers, Departments, Boards, Commissions and Agencies Designated.
The executive and administrative work of the City shall be performed by:
(a) The following elected or appointed officers:
Mayor;
Managing Director;
Director of Finance;
Chief Public Safety Director; 30
City Representative; 31
City Controller;
City Treasurer;
Personnel Director;
Insurance Public Advocate; 32
Public School Family and Child Advocate; 33
Director of Sustainability; 34
Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Affairs; 35
Director of Immigrant Affairs; 36
Victim Advocate; 37
Director of the Office for People with Disabilities; 38
Homeless Services Ombudsperson; 38.1
Director of Prison Oversight. 38.2
(b) The Mayor's Cabinet and a committee thereof to be known as the Administrative Board.
(c) Other heads of departments as hereinafter in this Chapter specified.
(d) The following departments which are hereby created:
Law Department;
Department of Commerce;
Police Department;
Department of Public Health;
Fire Department;
Department of Streets;
Department of Parks and Recreation; 39
Department of Public Welfare;
Water Department;
Department of Public Property;
Department of Licenses and Inspections;
Department of Records;
Department of Collections;
Auditing Department;
Procurement Department;
Department of Prisons; 40
Department of Planning and Development; 41
Department of Labor; 42
Department of Fleet Services; 43
Department of Aviation. 44
(e) The following independent boards and commissions, which, except for the Board of Trustees of the Free Library of Philadelphia, are hereby created: 45
Commission on Human Relations;
Fair Housing Commission; 46
Board of Trustees of the Free Library of Philadelphia;
Board of Pensions and Retirement;
Civil Service Commission;
Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission and its Advisory Committee;
Board of Ethics; 47
Youth Commission; 48
Zoning Code Commission; 49
Jobs Commission; 50
Commission for Women; 51
Commission on Universal Pre-Kindergarten; 52
Commission on African-American Males; 53
Citizens Police Oversight Commission; 54
Philadelphia Prison Community Oversight Board. 54.1
(f) The following departmental boards and commissions, which are either created or placed, as the case may be, in the respective departments, as follows:
In the Department of Commerce:
Board of Trade and Conventions.
In the Department of Public Health:
Board of Health;
Air Pollution Control Board;
Board of Trustees of Philadelphia General Hospital;
Board of Trustees of Philadelphia Hospital for Contagious Diseases.
In the Department of Streets:
Board of Surveyors.
In the Department of Parks and Recreation: 55
Commission on Parks and Recreation;
Board of Trustees of American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial;
Board of Trustees of Atwater Kent Museum.
In the Department of Public Welfare: 56
Board of Trustees of Home for the Indigent.
In the Department of Public Property: 57
Gas Commission.
In the Department of Licenses and Inspections: 58
Board of Building Standards;
Board of License and Inspection Review.
In the Department of Collections:
Tax Review Board;
Sinking Fund Commission.
In the Department of Prisons: 59
Board of Trustees of Philadelphia Prisons.
In the Department of Planning and Development: 60
City Planning Commission;
Historical Commission;
Art Commission;
Zoning Board of Adjustment;
Housing Advisory Board;
Philadelphia Community Reinvestment Commission.
In the Department of Labor: 61
The Board of Labor Standards.
(g) Such additional advisory boards as the Mayor may appoint. 62
ANNOTATION
Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Article II, as amended.
Purposes: 1. The framework of the executive and administrative branch of the City government is detailed in this section. It lists all the principal elected or appointed officers, and all departments, board and commissions. It makes provisions for a Cabinet, a committee thereof known as the Administrative Board, and department heads.
2. The elected City administrative officers are: a Mayor, of the strong-mayor type, who is undoubtedly the City's most important officer; a City Controller, traditionally an elected official in Pennsylvania, to audit expenditures of the City government; and a City Treasurer, because of constitutional compulsion, whose office is to become an appointive one when the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth permit (Section 3-202).
3. The principal appointed officers include the Mayor's chief assistants: the Managing Director, who will supervise the service departments; the Director of Finance who will be the chief financial and budget officer; and the City Representative who will be the Mayor's ceremonial representative and the City's publicity chief. The Personnel Director, to be appointed by the Civil Service Commission, will be the city's personnel officer.
4. Departments are established on the basis of functions to be performed. Considerations prompting the departmentalization of functions are that functions grouped together be related to each other; that neither too few nor too many functions be placed in any one department; that the departments created embrace all fundamental municipal activities; and that problems of particular concern such as water, recreation, records and revenue collection, receive special attention through the creation of departments to deal specifically with them.
5. All but five boards and commissions have been connected, for the purposes of fiscal administration, with those departments to which their functions are most closely related. Such boards and commissions are denominated, departmental boards and commissions. The five that constitute exceptions, denominated independent boards and commissions, are boards whose activities are not closely related to any particular department or are of such importance as to merit independent status.
See Annotations to the following sections for the special relationships of the following departments, boards and commissions:
Department of Public Health and Boards of Trustees of City Hospitals – Sections 5-300 - 5-303;
Department of Recreation and Fairmount Park Commission – Sections 5-600 - 5-602;
Board of Trustees of Camp Happy – Section 5-605;
Department of Public Welfare and Board of Trustees of Welfare Institutions – Sections 5-700, 5-701.
See also Annotation to Section 8-403.
Law Department Note (2009): Department of Recreation and Fairmount Park Commission were reconstituted, and the Board of Trustees of Camp Happy was abolished, by amendment approved November 4, 2008. See Footnote to Section 3-905.
6. Only one advisory board, for the Department of Recreation, is expressly created, but provision is made for additional such boards as the Mayor may appoint.
Notes
30 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 16, 2023, and certified on June 5, 2023. See Bill No. 230106 (became law March 23, 2023); Resolution No. 230115-A (adopted March 9, 2023).
31 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on April 22, 2008, and certified on May 19, 2008. See Bill No. 080006 (approved March 6, 2008); Resolution No. 080041 (adopted March 6, 2008).
32 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2003, and certified on December 1, 2003. See Bill No. 030220 (approved May 15, 2003); Resolution No. 030231 (adopted May 1, 2003).
33 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 6, 2007, and certified on November 26, 2007. See Bill No. 070340 (approved September 20, 2007); Resolution No. 070360 (adopted June 14, 2007).
34 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2014, and certified on November 24, 2014. See Bill No. 130878 (approved May 19, 2014) and Resolution No. 130884 (adopted May 8, 2014).
35 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 150216 (approved June 2, 2015); Resolution No. 150225 (adopted May 14, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(13) for effective date.
36 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 21, 2019, and certified on June 10, 2019. See Bill No. 190007 (approved Feb 27, 2019); Resolution No. 190028 (adopted February 14, 2019). See Charter subsection A-200(16) for effective date.
37 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2020, and certified on November 23, 2020. See Bill No. 200208 (approved July 1, 2020); Resolution No. 200216 (adopted June 25, 2020)
38 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 6, 2007, and certified on November 26, 2007. See Bill No. 070395 (approved September 20, 2007); Resolution No. 070411 (adopted June 14, 2007). Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 7, 2023, and certified on November 30, 2023. See Bill No. 230411 (approved July 12, 2023); Resolution No. 230430 (adopted June 22, 2023). See Charter subsection A-200(26) for effective date.
38.1 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2025, and certified on June 9, 2025. See Bill No. 240005 (approved June 12, 2024); Resolution No. 240030 (adopted May 30, 2024).
38.2 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2025, and certified on June 9, 2025. See Bill No. 240817 (approved February 12, 2025); Resolution No. 240834-A (adopted December 19, 2024) and Resolution No. 250018 (adopted January 30, 2025). See Charter subsection A-200(29) for effective date.
39 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2008, and certified on November 28, 2008. See Bill No. 080169 (approved August 4, 2008); Resolution No. 080181 (adopted June 19, 2008).
40 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2014, and certified on November 24, 2014. See Bill No. 140015 (approved May 19, 2014); Resolution No. 140035 (adopted May 8, 2014).
41 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 140721 (approved June 16, 2015); Resolution No. 140732-A (adopted June 11, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(14) for effective date.
42 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on June 2, 2020, and certified on June 22, 2020. See Bill No. 200008 (approved February 26, 2020); Resolution No. 200042-A (adopted February 13, 2020). See Charter subsection A-200(18) for effective date.
43 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 2, 2021, and certified on November 22, 2021. See Bill No. 200075 (approved July 15, 2021); Resolution No. 200079 (adopted June 17, 2021). See Charter subsection A-200(19) for effective date.
44 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 8, 2022, and certified on December 4, 2022. See Bill No. 220187 (approved July 6, 2022); Resolution No. 220197-A (adopted June 23, 2022). See Charter subsection A-200(24) for effective date.
45 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 140721 (approved June 16, 2015); Resolution No. 140732-A (adopted June 11, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(14) for effective date.
46 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220077 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220082 (adopted February 24, 2022). See Charter subsection A-200(23) for effective date.
47 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 16, 2006, and certified on June 5, 2006. See Bill No. 040769 (approved December 15, 2005); Resolution No. 040817 (adopted December 1, 2005).
48 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 15, 2007, and certified on June 4, 2007. See Bill No. 060581 (approved January 23, 2007); Resolution No. 060596 (adopted December 14, 2006).
49 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 15, 2007, and certified on June 4, 2007. See Bill No. 060699 (approved February 21, 2007); Resolution No. 060716-AA (adopted February 8, 2007).
50 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2011, and certified on June 6, 2011. See Bill No. 110060 (approved March 23, 2011); Resolution No. 110063 (adopted March 10, 2011).
51 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 19, 2015, and certified on June 8, 2015. See Bill No. 140230 (approved March 10, 2015); Resolution No. 140244 (adopted February 26, 2015).
52 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 19, 2015, and certified on June 8, 2015. See Bill No. 150005 (approved March 10, 2015); Resolution No. 150017 (adopted February 26, 2015).
53 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on April 26, 2016, and certified on May 17, 2016. See Bill No. 150573-A (approved December 15, 2015); Resolution No. 150594 (adopted December 3, 2015).
54 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2020, and certified on November 23, 2020. See Bill No. 200367 (approved July 1, 2020); Resolution No. 200377 (adopted June 25, 2020).
54.1 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2025, and certified on June 9, 2025. See Bill No. 240817 (approved February 12, 2025); Resolution No. 240834-A (adopted December 19, 2024) and Resolution No. 250018 (adopted January 30, 2025). See Charter subsection A-200(29) for effective date.
55 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2008, and certified on November 28, 2008. See Bill No. 080169 (approved August 4, 2008); Resolution No. 080181 (adopted June 19, 2008).
56 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2014, and certified on November 24, 2014. See Bill No. 140015 (approved May 19, 2014); Resolution No. 140035 (adopted May 8, 2014).
57 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 140721 (approved June 16, 2015); Resolution No. 140732-A (adopted June 11, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(14) for effective date.
58 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 140721 (approved June 16, 2015); Resolution No. 140732-A (adopted June 11, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(14) for effective date.
59 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2014, and certified on November 24, 2014. See Bill No. 140015 (approved May 19, 2014); Resolution No. 140035 (adopted May 8, 2014).
60 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 140721 (approved June 16, 2015); Resolution No. 140732-A (adopted June 11, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(14) for effective date. Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 16, 2017, and certified on June 6, 2017. See Bill No. 160895-A (approved March 13, 2017); Resolution No. 170190 (adopted March 9, 2017). See Charter subsection A-200(15) for effective date.
61 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on June 2, 2020, and certified on June 22, 2020. See Bill No. 200008 (approved February 26, 2020); Resolution No. 200042-A (adopted February 13, 2020). See Charter subsection A-200(18) for effective date.
62 | Former subsection (g) deleted and former subsection (h) renumbered by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2008, and certified on November 28, 2008. See Bill No. 080169 (approved August 4, 2008); Resolution No. 080181 (adopted June 19, 2008).