Just to show that I am consistent, here is a copy of a commentary that I wrote that appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News on March 19, 2008. Mayor Mikes Biggest Misstep By J. MATTHEW WOLFE IS THERE a shortcut on the road to reform? Democratic Mayor Nutter seems to think so. He ran as the darling of the reformers. An agent for change. One of his very first decisions, however, was to violate the Home Rule Charter by paying some of his top appointments more of our money than the charter allows. In case you missed it the first time around, the charter specifies the salaries of the mayor, City Council and the top officials appointed by the mayor. Mayor Nutters managing director is getting over $20,000 a year more than allowed. The police commissioner will get almost $40,000 more. They are the most prominent figures to whom Mayor Nutter unilaterally decided to give raises. His excuse is that in order to attract the people he wants to work for the city, he needs to pay higher salaries. There might be some merit to his argument, although the salaries allowed by the charter are not exactly chump change. Youd think that most managing directors could get by on $174,464 a year. Regardless of his motives and excuses, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. The mayor is doing it the wrong way. The City Charter allows for amendments. It was anticipated that over time changes would be necessary, particularly with regard to matters like salaries. There is a procedure for this. If passed by his Democratic City Council, any changes he wanted could have been on the ballot in the April primary for approval by the voters. If these officials that he thinks are so important to his administration had any confidence in him, they would have taken the jobs and waited for their raises to come a few short months down the road. The charter gives the final decision for change to the voters, not to any single elected official. The reform mayor seems not to trust the voters, though. Just like his predecessors, he seems to think decisions are best left to him, in the worst tradition of the citys Democratic machine. The mayor used some smoke and mirrors to evade the law. He said the police commissioner is also director of public safety. His managing director is also a deputy mayor. He says the added titles allow them to be paid more. Sorry, Mike. The Home Rule Charter, Section 8.8-301, says, No person shall hold more than one office or position of profit, whether elective or appointive. Seems pretty clear to me. Yet another violation of the charter. Even if it wasnt a double violation, does anyone actually believe these officials are handling some additional duties for their additional titles? If they were, couldnt a case be made that Philadelphia deserves a full-time police commissioner and a full-time managing director? YOU AND I can complain about this, but where is our city controller, a Democrat like the Mayor? Again, read the City Charter. The city controller must approve any city disbursement, which would include salaries. It would be a simple matter for the controller to simply disapprove any amount above that allowed by law. By not exercising this power, I think, Democratic Controller Alan Butkovitz is neglecting his duty. How about the mayors own Inspector General? Why havent we heard from Democrat Amy Kurland, a former assistant U.S. attorney who was brought in with great flourish by Mayor Nutter? This is clearly within the scope of her responsibilities. Not brave enough to take on this issue? We have a Democratic mayor who is also a Democratic ward leader who started his administration by seeming to violate the City Charter in ways that squander our treasury. We have other Democratic officials whose job it is to prevent corruption turning a blind eye. The media and public have given Michael Nutter a free pass thus far. Every paycheck is a new violation. We should be demanding that the mayor and his officials follow the obvious dictates of the charter and give back the money. We should demand that our controller stop paying officials money that they are not legally entitled to. The honeymoons over. J. Matthew Wolfe is a Republican ward leader in West Philadelphia and is writing for the Loyal Opposition, a Republican policy group focused on issues facing the city of Philadelphia. articles.philly/2008-03-19/news/25260796_1_city-charter-deputy-mayor-home-rule-charter
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 06:14:47 +0000