With a unanimous City Council vote last Wednesday, the city is poised to establish a stand-alone Ocean Safety Department via executive action. That will be followed by a charter amendment question on the Nov. 5 general election ballot to establish an Ocean Safety Commission, providing oversight for the new department.

An alternative plan to create the department and oversight commission simultaneously via a public vote has now been bypassed with the Council’s action. The just-approved Resolution 150 allows Mayor Rick Blangiardi to stand up the new department, and a revised Resolution 50 for the charter amendment pertains solely to creating the oversight commission.