Mayor Jacob Frey appointed City Coordinator Heather Johnston to be Minneapolis' first city operations officer in an interim capacity through an executive order issued Tuesday.
Johnston, who was named interim city coordinator in 2021, was appointed to the official position full time and approved by the City Council in June.
"Heather Johnston's extensive experience in leading complex, large-scale change is renowned throughout the Twin Cities region, and Minneapolis is lucky to have her as the interim City Operations Officer," said Frey in a news release. "She has consistently put service before self — when you need something done, and done well, you call Heather."
On Oct. 20, the City Council approved the mayor's government structure ordinance creating an Office of Community Safety, the Office of Public Service and the Office of City Attorney to comprise the mayor's cabinet. The mayor will also have a chief of staff, a fourth "direct report" to him who is not a member of the cabinet.
In her new role as city operations officer in charge of the Office of Public Service, Johnston will oversee more than a dozen departments and divisions including the 311 Service Center, Communications, Neighborhood and Community Relations, Arts and Cultural Affairs, Regulatory Services, the Minneapolis Convention Center, Community Planning and Economic Development, Health, Public Works, Civil Rights, Race Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, and the Performance Management and Innovation Department.
"We are seeing positive momentum right now as we continue to build out our new government structure," said Johnston. "It is a great honor to help advance the work of the city of Minneapolis, and I am excited to work with our incredible city staff to deliver effective, efficient and equitable services to all residents."
Before appointing Johnston as city coordinator, Frey had promised to conduct a national search for the position. He refrained from the search after voters approved a measure to change the government structure of the city last fall that would eventually make the city coordinator's position obsolete, he said.
Frey assured council members that he would perform a national search for a permanent, full-time city operations officer instead.
The city is still working on terms with an external search firm to that end, according to the mayor's news release. Frey's office estimated the search process will be complete within the first half of 2023, after which the mayor will nominate a candidate for City Council approval.
