March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 51 F

Not So Fast Mr. Mayor

Cohen’s Ax Was Dullpoliticsasusual

NOTE: Toward the bottom of this post, we used the term “consultant” in an allusion to Doug Smith. Mr. Smith is a “contractual employee” of the City and we regret the error in choice of words.

Earlier today, we reported that Mayor Cohen had begun to wield the axe in an effort to relieve the bloated payroll at City Hall. On the surface it sounded good. We sniffed around and asked a few questions.

Vacant Positions

Two of the more significant (in terms of salary and benefits) positions were already vacant and not costing the City a dime.  The Chief Information Officer was a position created by former Mayor Ellen Moyer and never filled. Mayor Cohen eliminated the position. The Election Administrator position was also a vacant position and was supposed to be a full time position. However, the position is being reconsidered for a contractual position during an election–which makes sense.

The other three jobs were indeed occupied, but they were for the most part clerical and likely did not hold a significant impact in terms of salary and benefits.

There have been several articles about the new Mayor and how all media (traditional and new) are really looking for a way to give him an opportunity to show he is really the polar opposite of his predecessor. Unfortunately, the Mayor himself is making that very difficult with the creation of more positions, more “consultants” “contractual employees”, appointments of campaign volunteers,  secret meetings, and now the smoke and mirrors regarding the trimming of the fat at City Hall.

Mr. Mayor. You can do better. We all want you to do better. It is not difficult to do better. Please, don’t let us down.

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