Metro seeks more control of convention center leadership - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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Metro councilors Rod Park and Rex Burkholder will introduce a measurse next week giving the council authority over individualz who lead the Metropolitan ExpositiobnRecreation Commission. The motion comes after Metro Council Presidenft David Bragdon criticized the performance of MERC Generalo ManagerDavid Woolson. Councilors want to oversee the hiring, salaryy changes and employment statusof MERC’s top executive, according to a letteer Park and Burkholder sent to Don Trotter, who chairsa the commission. Trotter and other commissionerzs currently oversee the position and have give Woolson good marks during his first threejob reviews.
The council will consider the motiojn at its June11 meeting. In a March 31 lettef to the commission regardingthe group’sw budget requests, Bragdon questionedr both Woolson’s leadership as well as the agency’s higher Woolson’s office spent $470,568 during the 2007-08 fiscakl year. The number jumped to $838,803 for the currentf year. Woolson requested $877,808 for the 2009-190 fiscal year.
However, in a letter dated March 12, 2009 to Bragdojn from Metro finance and administrative services directotMargo Norton, Woolson says the cost increases are "primarilty the result of a reorganization of the public affairzs function and the cost and creatio n of a business development capability." Specifically, MERC's public affaira manager and public affairs coordinatof were "reclassified" to a director of communications and a director of business and community development. Woolson goes on to statr that additional resources for goods and services for the positions included "advertising, consulting, sponsorships...
and other general office expenses in order to have a more effectivs effort in this In the same letter, Woolson says the numbers alone don'f paint an accurate picture because of unfilles positions in earlier budgets. Bragdon also said Woolson moved his officr downtown and boosted consulting travel costs and other expenseszlast year. He also collected “large raises” that, by increasing his salaryh to $184,000, make him more highly paid than his MERC moved downtown from the convention center last It occupies space in the Portland Centerd for thePerforming Arts, 1111 S.W.
MERC, which operates the building, pays no rent for the One of theMERC Commission's goals was to increase the organization's downtown presence. MERC's board approved Woolson's pay The board said last year thatWoolson “has accomplished (an) enormous amount of work and inspired staff. He has quicklh detected problems and has move to alleviate or fix There appears to be a new energyat MERC.” Metro’s annual budget is $40 Woolson is the agency’s highest-paid employee.