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Negrin Appointed Managing Director, Official Responsibilies Downsized

As the Daily News reported this morning, Mayor Nutter today made attorney Richard Negrin managing director.

Negrin, a former member of the Board of Ethics, joined the administration in December as interim executive director of the Board of Revision of Taxes. He will replace Managing Director Camille Barnett, who is set to leave June 30 after two low-profile years as the city's chief operating officer. His salary will be $180,000, but with a 5 percent pay cut due to budget constraints.

Nutter said that Negrin will also hold the title of Deputy Mayor for Administration and Coordination, a reflection of the downsizing of the position's authority since Nutter took office. Negrin will directly oversee several departments, including 3-1-1 and technology, as well as coordinate work between other departments. He will collaborate with the four other deputy mayors, who will not report to him, but to the mayor.

"He is the person who will help to make things happen," Nutter said.

Practically, Nutter's announcement simply clarifies what has been practise for some time. Under the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, the city managing director is defined as the the city's chief operating officer. But in Nutter's government, many of those powers have been handed to the deputy mayors, who up until now reported to both the mayor and the managing director. Barnett largely focused on a few singular projects, like establishing the 3-1-1 non-emergency call center.

Negrin, who said he was humbled by the job offer, said he wasn't concerned about the title change. "Whatever the mayor wants to call me, I'm going to show up," he said.

Nutter said that as CEO of the city, he has authority to determine the responsibilities of his staff. He said he did not plan to seek a charter change to reflect the changes to the position.