How many people are needed to replace our former assistant manager? UPDATED 2X

The answer is THREE. Welcome our new assistant manager, Ian McMeans*. He is featured in the latest issue of mtl Magazine, new assistant manager. Ian McMeans accepted a salary of $80,000. I'm sure if one questions this new hire, our manager will be quick to say that McMeans is also the municipal planner, the position Keith McGill held before being promoted to municipal manager.

When Marcia Taylor retired as assistant manager in July 2013 after 34 years with Mt. Lebanon, the decision was made to split her job into two positions; a finance director and an HR director. Andrew McCreery and Bonnie Cross were hired as full time employees earning close to $102,000 and more than $85,000 respectively. See 1st quarter earnings in 2016.  Marcia Taylor earned $118,000 in 2012.

How is this permitted? We've gone from paying full benefits for one position to full benefits for THREE individuals.

What IS an assistant to the manager? The job description for this position is here. In addition to these duties, Bonnie Cross is the Open Records Officer (ORO). The ORO grants or denies all RTKs. Steve Feller served as ORO, in addition to being municipal manager.

I questioned our commissioners, manager, and solicitor in January about the newly created position known as "assistant to the manager." Of course, the commissioners ignored me, but I did get a response from municipal manager Keith McGill. See the newly released archived post from January -   Another example of our rogue commisssion

So we've gone from a municipal manager, assistant manager, and municipal planner to:

• municipal manager
• assistant manager/municipal planner
• finance director
• HR director/assistant to the manager

along with full and part time assistant directors, as well as full and part time administrative support.

For that, we are now getting late RTKs, incomplete statements of financial interests, a lot of poor customer service, bad attitudes, less transparency, and being ignored by staff and/or commissioners while payroll costs increase.

*Our new assistant manager did not submit a statement of financial interests.

Update June 2, 2016 11:48 PM This comment was sent to me privately.

In reading your blog post from January 19th from Mr. McGill, he wrote:

Section 124 Administrative Offices gives the Manager the authority to create such administrative staff offices as may be required to administer the operations and affairs of the municipality.

The actual wording is as follows:

§124 Administrative Offices. The Manager may, within budget appropriations approved by the Commission, create such administrative staff offices as may be required to administer the operations and affairs of the Municipality. 

Do we know if McGill created the positions legally?

Update June 3, 2016 11:13 AM I forgot about this blog posting. Introducing Andrew McCreery and Bonnie Cross 

Also, did you know that the commission had passed a bill, Bill # 16-15 on November 23, 2015 (the day before the Office of Open Records ruled in my favor), where there are minimum and maximum bi-weekly wage ranges for specific employees?