Editing Philadelphia Home Rule Charter (section)

== Provisions ==

The Charter established a strong mayor form of government, concentrating executive authority in an elected mayor serving four-year terms. The mayor appoints department heads, proposes the city budget, and exercises substantial administrative control over city operations. This concentration replaced the previous diffusion of authority among independently elected officials and enabled more accountable governance.<ref name="charter"/>

City Council was restructured as a seventeen-member body, with ten members elected from districts and seven at-large. This hybrid system balanced neighborhood representation with citywide perspectives, though the at-large seats have periodically generated reform debates. Council holds legislative authority, approving the budget, passing ordinances, and overseeing city operations through hearings and investigations.<ref name="charter"/>

The Charter consolidated city and county governments, eliminating redundant offices and streamlining administration. Philadelphia had been coterminous with Philadelphia County since the 1854 consolidation, but separate governmental structures had persisted. The Charter merged these functions while eliminating or consolidating row offices that had provided patronage opportunities for political machines.<ref name="charter"/>

Civil service protections represented a crucial reform element. The Charter established merit-based hiring and promotion for most city employees, reducing patronage appointments that had sustained machine politics. The Civil Service Commission oversees personnel practices, administers examinations, and adjudicates employee grievances. These protections have reduced political manipulation of city employment while generating complaints about bureaucratic rigidity.<ref name="charter"/>