PICA chairman steps down

James Eisenhower, Gov. Ed Rendell's appointee as chairman of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, stepped down Tuesday as Gov. Corbett was sworn in.

PICA is the state-appointed board that oversees Philadelphia finances. It was created in the early 1990s during the city's fiscal crisis, and requires each mayor to submit a five-year budget plan for approval by the board.

In his final meeting, Eisenhower said he was optimistic about the prospects for a comprehensive study of the city's firefighting needs - meaning the Nutter administration and the city firefighters union may be able to agree on its parameters.

Nutter asked PICA to fund a report after years of acrimony over Fire Department cutbacks and the basis - or lack thereof - on which they were made. PICA, the administration, City Council representatives, and the union recently met to discuss the study proposal.

"We're off to a good start," Eisenhower said.

Eisenhower was first appointed in 2005, shortly after he lost to Corbett in a 2004 bid for attorney general, and he was elected chairman by fellow board members in 2007.

A former federal prosecutor and U.S. Justice Department lawyer, Eisenhower is a partner at Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis and was the most prominent attorney for the Philadelphia Housing Authority under former Executive Director Carl R. Greene.

On Tuesday, Eisenhower cast his final vote, to extend the contract of PICA's executive director, Uri Monson, through July 1. Monson, executive director since January 2008, has been with PICA 11 years. He makes $180,000 annually. The board said it wanted to ensure a smooth transition for a new board without tying it to a long-term contract.

Corbett has not announced who will replace Eisenhower. The terms of all of the other unpaid board members - Wadud Ahmad, Joseph A. DiAngelo, Michael A. Karp, and William J. Leonard - expire Jan. 31.

The five-member board consists of one appointee each by the governor, House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and Senate Republicans.

Eisenhower reiterated his position - echoed by the PICA board earlier this year - that the city's deferred retirement option plan should be eliminated.

He said that Mayor Nutter had "by and large done a good job" with city finances, but that he was going to need new ideas to make serious dents in city costs.