By Marcia Gelbart
Inquirer Staff Writer
He was timely in squeezing out a complicated $4 billion budget proposal. But nearly three months into Mayor Nutter's term, City Hall is still being reconfigured to accommodate his staff - and there's a reason.
With 84 salaried positions budgeted for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Nutter will oversee the largest mayoral staff in recent memory.
John F. Street started out eight years ago with 65 aides; that figure at various points surged to 70 and shrunk to 46 before leveling off at 62 in his final days as mayor.
By comparison, the staff run by Street's predecessor, Gov. Rendell, swelled to no more than 49 throughout his eight-year tenure.
But Nutter may be setting a record.
The high number is partly a reflection of some campaign promises. For instance, Nutter has restored the Office of Arts and Culture, which was eliminated by Street. But instead of housing it again in the city's Commerce Department, Nutter put the office under his direct stewardship.
That amounts to just one new body (a director of the Office of Arts and Culture has yet to be hired). But it is emblematic of several offices Nutter has created.
Others include the Chief Integrity Office, the Office of Sustainability, the Office of Private Sector Initiatives, and the Office of Correspondence and Constituent Services.
By the end of Street's term, just one person was assigned to the job of lobbying other branches of government. Nutter, who has spoken frequently of Philadelphia's need to better communicate with state and federal agencies and lawmakers, is launching a six-person-strong Legislative and Government Affairs Office.
In addition, Nutter is increasing the size of some offices.
For instance, Street had a communications staff of three; Nutter is expanding it to six. And where Street's Inspector General Office also consisted of three people, under Nutter it will grow to eight.
"We're kind of piled up on top of each other," Nutter spokesman Doug Oliver said.
Even with several positions vacant, he talked about the logistical challenge of squeezing bodies into the finite second-floor space that houses most of Nutter's staff.
One solution under way: building out.
In Room 225 this week, white paint was drying and new carpeting was being tacked down as the space was remodeled to accommodate four or five staffers. Under Street, Room 225 - an old courtroom attached through a smaller room to the mayor's personal office - was used for cabinet meetings and to hold news conferences.
So far, the overall growth of the mayor's office has received little attention and elicited little concern from City Council.
But that may not always be the case.
"When you are preaching lean and mean and the numbers seem to suggest something else, it's not a great thing," said Zack Stalberg, president of the good-government group Committee of Seventy. "In real terms, we might understand it is moving bodies around.
"But it can present an issue for him, especially when things get nasty," he said, looking ahead to talks with the city's four municipal unions.
For now, though, Stalberg said, "It's a honeymoon period, and people are not going to pick at that too much."
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