Mayor Steve Bach may have eliminated 38 positions and trimmed $2 million in salaries from the 2012 budget, but two new hires in his office are all the talk at City Hall.
Last month, Chief of Staff Laura Neumann hired an executive assistant at $70,000 a year.
Neumann didn’t advertise the position, which she said is “unusual.”
But Neumann said she needed someone with the right skill set to give her a hand, especially since she was recruiting for seven manager positions that report directly to her. The seven positions were either vacant or filled by someone on an interim basis, she said.
Neumann’s new assistant, Samantha “Dani” Ewen, used to be the human resources director at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, which is where Neumann worked as vice president and general manager before she went to work for Bach in January.
“That’s not why she’s here,” Neumann said.
Ewen was one of four finalists for the city’s human resources director job and had been vetted through the selection process, she said. Even though Ewen didn’t get that job, Neumann said, she was a good fit in the mayor’s office.
Another new worker, Jason Lippert, is a former fellow at El Pomar Foundation.
Lippert, who joined the mayor’s office four weeks ago, was hired by the city from a temp agency. He gets paid $25 an hour, or $2,000 every two weeks.
Insiders jokingly refer to Lippert as the “assistant to the assistant.”
The city did not respond to a request for Lippert’s job description but said he helps with scheduling.
Bach has an extremely busy schedule, sometimes working from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Cindy Aubrey, the mayor’s chief communications officer.
“I know because I go to the events,” she said. “One person is not able to do all of that.”
Neumann and Steve Cox, the mayor’s chief of economic vitality and innovation, defended the hiring decisions, saying the two new employees are filling a critical need.
“We need to be able to be flexible as an organization,” Cox said.
Cox emphasized that the city is spending less on payroll this year than last year.
“The bottom line is we’re spending less money today,” Cox said.
As the city transitions to a new system of government that makes the mayor the city’s chief executive, Cox said the administration is making staffing adjustments as necessary.
Well, it sure didn’t take long for the current administration to become just like every other political administration did it? People hiring their friends. Being secretive.
So disappointing because I had such high hopes for Bach. I really thought it would be different. It’s not.
Why anyone should assume this change in our form of Government would be
seamless is, just naive. This
City wanted this change, but
now that the Mayor was
elected and leans toward
Conservative Administering
for the peoples business, the
whinners and pathetic sore
losers are endless! If you didn’t vision a rough road ahead, then you have no business analyzing a crossword puzzle…let alone our new Administration’s growing pains. Stop acting like children, you are just getting what you asked for…!
$50k a year for an “assistant to the assistant” who “helps with scheduling”? Wow.
Employees are the highest annual cost for any business. I applaud Mayor Bach on trimming 2 million from the budget.
This story covers a consistent trend established by the ‘strong mayor’. While services are cut and qualified, experienced city staff are fired the mayor continues to add highly paid, inexperienced staff to his own personal office contingent. This is not however, consistent with the promises made by those who supported the change in government. We can’t have code enforcement officers to help clean up our neighborhoods and shabby appearance of our streetscapes but we can hire PR flunkies to do the mayor’s job. The major qualification seems to be resort/spa background.
Is this what you were thinking when you voted to adopt a strong mayor system? Can we now hold the supporters and financiers of that change responsible for thier deception?
Corporate America (Governments should run like them) don’t post all opened positions either – Use to work for a CEO at a Fortune 500 company that would have me recruit a person, because of their talents and we would open a position for them or put them directly in a position that was vacated. CEO wasn’t friends with the candidate either – he was after their skills and proven performance.
I can do scheduling… and recruiting. Mayor Bach – call me!
“The bottom line is we’re spending less money today,” Cox said.
But…is that including the “golden parachutes” still being paid to those who were fired, left, or forced out?
More of the same unethical actions from those without any ethics or morals.
bach: growing government by filling it with his buddies. but god forbid we have functioning tennis courts. what a moron
wow i was really hoping that bach would have restraint on spending. i guess he will be like the rest of the politicians and spend money we do not have . was only a matter of time. next they will ask for more money for cops to set up speed traps and police harrassment.
Once agin I did not want this smuck who the hell voted for him. Good Lord
Now all he has to do is hire someone to clean his ott house. LOL
Lilithia
I am not surprised by the actions that Mayor Bach and his administration have taken. Like most politicians, he is interested in his own personal agenda. He does not seem to understand or care about the citizens of Colorado Springs. It is all about Mayor Bach and his friends and associates. I saw the red flags during his campaign and knew in my heart, he was not the person to lead our city. Once again. the ultra-conservative voters picked another person who is divisive and self centered, sounds a lot like Doug Bruce.
$70k for an Executive Assistant? Show me where in the city other city admin get paid this highly! THEY DO NOT. This is B.S., and Cronyism at its finest.
If the mayor needs any other workers to be “assistant to the assistant” I will move from Fort Myers, FL to Colorado Springs in a heart beat, and do the job for $20 an hour. I won’t ask for anything special, or expect perks, just your health insurance and PTO.
I would show up each day and do my 8,9 or 10 hours a days work, without any bitching and complaining.
If you want to hire me Mayor Bach, give send me an email!
Thank you in advance for a timely response!
[...] former city employee who got a severance payout was Jason Lippert, an hourly employee who worked in the mayor’s [...]