The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to abolish any office, to consolidate 2 or more offices, reduce the number of employees, remove from office, and make appointments to any office under him authorized by law.

(June 11, 1878, 20 Stat. 104, ch. 180, § 3.)

1981 Ed., § 1-309.

1973 Ed., § 1-216.

Mayor’s authority, suspension of officers and employees, see § 1-301.01.

Reorganization Order No. 3 of the Board of Commissioners, dated August 28, 1952, established in the government of the District of Columbia under the direction and control of the Board of Commissioners, a Department of General Administration headed by a Director. The Order transferred to the Director of General Administration all of the functions and positions of the District Personnel Board. Reorganization Order No. 21 of the Board, dated November 20, 1952, established a Personnel Office in the Department of General Administration and provided that the functions previously vested in the Board of Commissioners by law or transferred to the Board by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. Reorganization Order No. 40 of the Board of Commissioners, dated June 23, 1953, established the Executive Office of the Board of Commissioners under the direction and control of the Board of Commissioners to provide special and clerical assistance to the Board. The Order transferred to the new Executive Office all of the functions and positions of the previously existing Executive Office of the Board of Commissioners which the Order abolished. This Order was issued pursuant to Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. The above cited Reorganization Orders were revoked by Organization Order No. 2 of the Commissioner, dated December 13, 1967, which established the Executive Office of the Commissioner for the purpose of providing such managerial, budgetary, personnel, secretarial, informational and special assistance as the Commissioner may require in the administration of the Government of the District of Columbia. Certain functions set forth in this Order subsequently were transferred by Commissioner’s Order Nos. 69-96, 71-270, and 71-307, and by Organization Order No. 30.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.