Nutter names Barnett's replacement

Mayor Nutter yesterday officially named attorney Richard Negrin as his next managing director - in name, anyway.

Negrin, who joined the administration in December as interim executive director of the Board of Revision of Taxes, will replace Camille Barnett, who is set to leave June 30 after two low-profile years.

But Nutter said that Negrin will also hold the title of deputy mayor for administration and coordination, a reflection of the downsizing of the managing director's authority since Nutter took office.

Negrin will directly oversee several departments, including the 3-1-1 call center, technology and public property, and coordinate work among other departments. Negrin will collaborate with the four other deputy mayors, but they will report to Nutter.

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

Practically, Nutter's announcement simply clarifies what has been practice for some time. Under the Home Rule Charter, the managing director is defined as the city's chief operating officer, with the power to appoint department heads and run city services. 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," Negrin said.

Nutter said that as chief executive officer 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.

Negrin's salary will be $180,000, but he will take a 5 percent pay cut due to budget constraints. That salary is within the legal guidelines for compensation to the managing director, unlike Barnett's original $195,000 salary, which was also subject to a pay cut.

Before coming to work for the city, Negrin was vice president and general counsel of Aramark, the food-services operation. He's a former president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania. And he briefly played professional football, for the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets.