HEY, BIG SPENDERS
Delco to pay $100G each to 2 consultants for 5 months of work:
“How did we come up with the number of $100,000? I understand it a little bit … It just seems that the amount of $100,000 over (five) months seems a little excessive for this position.”
— County Council Vice Chairman Dr. Monica Taylor
Delaware County Council approved paying consultants Marianne Jackson and Christina Perrone each
$100,000 for five months of work, although one councilwoman took issue with the high price tag.
County Council Vice Chairman Dr. Monica Taylor joined her colleagues in approving Jackson’s salary but was the lone opponent in Perrone’s compensation.
“How did we come up with the number of
$100,000?” she asked. “I understand it a little bit … It just seems that the amount of $100,000 over (five) months seems a little excessive for this position.”
Although she doesn’t get a vote on the measure, Controller Joanne Phillips also voiced concerns, particularly related to how Perrone is being reimbursed.
“I just have to express to council that I don’t see why we have a consultant be reimbursed,” Phillips said. “Again, we’re not in an emergency situation and we don’t allow other people to just buy things so I don’t support that ... I don’t see the need for people to be able to buy up to $1,000 or $2,500 a month.”
The controller pointed out that other processes have worked.
“We don’t have credit cards in the county, there’s a reason for that,” Phillips continued. “We haven’t had any problem and typically the same people ask to make these purchases. Right now, people can be reimbursed and they are reimbursed really quickly and there’s also petty cash that’s available for people to make small purchases. It generally works throughout the county.”
Perrone was first hired last August in a $50,000 contract for project management services to coordinate the move of the Election Bureau and the Voter Registration Department from the Government Center in Media to the Wharf at Rivertown in Chester.
At the time, county officials said that type of move would typically take four to five months and county Executive Director Howard Lazarus said Perrone completed it in six weeks.
In the recent contract, Perrone will be compensated for project management services related to the May primary, reviewing the Medical Examiner facilities and operations, the establishment of the county health department, negotiating the lease for the historic Chester Courthouse and other initiatives from Feb. 1 through June 30 in an amount not to exceed $100,000. That was approved by a 4-1 vote, with Taylor the only dissenter.
“Given her skill level, this represents a good value to the county,” Lazarus said. “Ms. Perrone is a high-level project manager.
If you were to take the rate of $125-an-hour and subtract our normal benefits burden, you’d wind up with a project manager in the area of probably $75,000 to $80,000 per year.”
County Council Chairman Brian Zidek noted that both Perrone and Jackson were independent contractors and as such, receive no employee benefits for their roles.
In addition, county Councilwoman Christine Reuther said one of the things they have been doing is providing insight into what the future of the election department should look like, including someone to handle administrative tasks.
Lazarus also spoke to the unique character of the November election, which saw a record high turnout of 77.6 percent voters, even as presidential elections tend to draw many to fill out their ballots.
“That was an election that saw a dramatic change in the landscape of how elections are conducted,” he said. “We went from 2,000 mail-in ballots to well over 100,000 mailin ballots.”
In addition to Perrone’s approval, county council unanimously approved hiring Jackson to serve as the Interim Director of Elections for an amount not to exceed $100,000 from Feb. 1 through June 30.
She was also first hired in August for the same position at a cost not to exceed $20,000 per month. At the time, Boothwyn resident Thomas McKeown asked, “Why should taxpayers in Delaware County pay many thousands of dollars per month to have someone oversee our elections when the employees who actually make the election happen get paid less than $12 an hour?”
Reuther responded that she agreed that the election staff “probably aren’t getting paid what they’re worth,” as she noted the compensation study that the county is undergoing to have more equitable compensation.
Lazarus said the recommendation to hire Jackson for this role at this pay rate came from the Board of Elections, as county officials continue their process of searching for a permanent director of elections.