Eliminates Five Positions, Makes Good On Campaign Promises

In an effort to combat the fiscal uncertainty of Annapolis’ future, Mayor Josh Cohen has eliminated five positions from the bloated City.

According to a press release, in order to offset the new positions created in his first week, Cohen has eliminated the Chief Information Officer, Executive Office Associate, Elections Administrator, Special Assistant To The Mayor, and a temporary general clerical position.

It was clear to me that we needed to restructure the Mayor’s office in order to put more emphasis on effective delivery of services and less emphasis on administrative functions. We are heading into the most difficult city budget in a generation. As I committed during the campaign, I would lead by example and eliminate and consolidate positions starting in the Mayor’s office.

Mayor Joshua J. Cohen

While the Mayor has cut one senior position and several clerical positions, any savings (if any) compared to the increased cost of the new positions could not be calculated.

The full press release is after the jump.

Annapolis, MD (12-16-09) Following through on his campaign pledge to make government more efficient and effective by eliminating positions and consolidating functions, Mayor Joshua J. Cohen announced that he has eliminated five positions to offset the cost of the new positions he announced last week. Three of the positions he has eliminated are in the Mayor’s Office.

Within the Mayor’s office, Mr. Cohen has cut the full-time positions of executive office associate and special assistant to the mayor as well as a temporary general clerical position. Elsewhere, the mayor is eliminating the full-time positions of chief information officer and elections administrator.

“It was clear to me that we needed to restructure the Mayor’s office in order to put more emphasis on effective delivery of services and less emphasis on administrative functions,” Cohen said. “We are heading into the most difficult city budget in a generation. As I committed during the campaign, I would lead by example and eliminate and consolidate positions starting in the Mayor’s office.”

As part of the budget preparation process, Mayor Cohen has also instructed his department heads to identify positions in their departments for elimination or consolidation.

This move marks the latest in Mayor Cohen’s multi-step process to make city government more efficient, effective and transparent. Last week, he created a task force to reduce overtime expenditures. Yesterday, he announced a citywide hiring freeze with the exception of police and fire personnel. Today’s announcement marks the first round of positions to be eliminated. Next month, the Idea Team will present further recommendations for eliminating and consolidating positions.