Panama City might eliminate CRA director position

PANAMA CITY — One of the options Panama City Manager Jeff Brown is considering for the open Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) director position is not hiring another director at all.

The CRA functions as a city department, with the director falling under the authority of the city manager; thus, hiring for the position is up to Brown. About five years ago, the CRA had a board appointed by the City Commission, but commissioners dissolved the CRA board.

“The City Commission felt it was their responsibility to oversee it,” Brown said.

Former Director William Whitson’s primary responsibility was overseeing operations of the department. The separate program managers for the Downtown North, St. Andrews and Millville CRAs are responsible for their specific districts, including creating a budget for each. The budget for 2014-15 already is completed, Brown said. The CRA also has a grants and operations coordinator, Tasha Stevens.

As reported in the 2013-14 budget, the director received a lion’s share of the salary allotment, $105,708, with taxes and benefits included, out of $366,010. Including taxes and benefits, Downtown North Manager Toni Shamplain has an annual salary of $64,108, St. Andrews Manager Rob Rosner receives $57,418, Millville Manager Stephen Cox receives $49,774 and Stevens receives $30,694. Whitson also received a three-month severance of $24,127.

As of now, Brown said the director salary would not be spread among the other DIB staff members if the director position were dissolved. This would give the CRA about $100,000 to apply to other uses such as business grants, land acquisition (with a sizable amount of land still needed for the Cultural District along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), park enhancements, crosswalks, pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvements, and cultural enhancements.

Brown said it might be necessary to hire a Downtown District program manager, a position eliminated in 2013-14. Since the other program managers have an average salary of $57,100, there still would be a significant cost savings from the $105,708 Whitson made.