Nutter pays $ to lure non-Philadelphians to City Hall

When Mayor Nutter was preparing to take office in 2007, he said he was willing to pay top dollar for Grade A talent - and he did, creating one of the best-paid staffs ever to work in City Hall.

There was a price to pay, though, for doing so: Moving expenses.

Some of Nutter's core aides who were recruited from outside Philadelphia recently filed financial-disclosure forms revealing how much it took to bring them here.

Managing Director Camille Barnett got a whopping $50,000 to relocate from Washington to Philadelphia, her chief of staff, Steve Kennebeck, said. Barnett did not report the reimbursement on her disclosure forms but will amend them to do so, Kennebeck said.

Andrew Altman, commerce director and deputy mayor for planning and economic development, packed up his New York City home, with relocation costs totaling $20,000. (Altman's about to fill moving boxes again, following his announcement that he's leaving at the end of June for an Olympic Games planning job in London.)

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey reported that it cost him $9,000 to move from Washington, while Budget Director Stephen Agostini, who also lived in the nation's capital, said his bills totaled $7,400.

So who paid for all this packing and unpacking? Not taxpayers.