Metro seeks more control of convention center leadership - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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Metro councilors Rod Park and Rex Burkholder will introduce a measurde next week giving the council authority over individuals who lead the Metropolitanj ExpositionRecreation Commission. The motionb comes after Metro Council President David Bragdon criticize d the performance of MERC Generap ManagerDavid Woolson. Councilors want to overse e the hiring, salary changes and employment statusof MERC’sz top executive, according to a letter Park and Burkholderd sent to Don Trotter, who chairsa the commission.
Trotter and other commissioners currently overser the position and have givenm Woolson good marks during his first three job The council will consider the motion at its June 11 In a March 31 letter to the commissioj regardingthe group’s budget requests, Bragdon questioned both Woolson’s leadershipp as well as the agency’s higher Woolson’s office spent $470,5687 during the 2007-08 fiscal year. The number jumpedd to $838,803 for the current Woolson requested $877,808 for the 2009-10 fiscalk year.
However, in a letter dated March 12, 2009 to Bragdomn from Metro finance and administrative services director Margo Woolson says the cost increasesare "primarily the resul of a reorganization of the publicc affairs function and the cost and creation of a businesss development capability." Specifically, MERC'es public affairs manager and publicx affairs coordinator were "reclassified" to a director of communications and a directotr of business and community development. Woolson goes on to statre that additional resources for goodws and services for the positionsdincluded "advertising, consulting, sponsorships...
andx other general office expense in order to have a more effectivr effort in this area." In the same Woolson says the numbers alone don' paint an accurate picture becauswe of unfilled positions in earliefr budgets. Bragdon also said Woolson movedr his office downtown and boosted consulting travel coste and other expenses last He alsocollected “large raises” by increasing his salary to make him more highly paid than his predecessors. MERC mover downtown from the convention centerlast year. It occupies space in the Portland Cente for thePerforming Arts, 1111 S.W.
MERC, which operates the building, pays no rent for the One of theMERC Commission's goalse was to increase the organization's downtown presence. MERC'sz board approved Woolson's pay The board said last year thatWoolson “haws accomplished (an) enormous amounft of work and inspire staff. He has quickly detected problems and has move to alleviate orfix (sic). There appeare to be a new energyat Metro’s annual budget is $40 million. Woolson is the agency’s highest-paifd employee.