Two years later, Denver Mayor Hancock's team is bigger, more expensive

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's administration is larger and $1 million more expensive than when he started in 2011, with 60 appointees who earn roughly $6.7 million a year ? a 17 percent increase in less than two years.

The growth is happening as Denver's economy is picking up and the city no longer has a gaping budget hole because of a de-Brucing measure passed by voters in November that put $44 million more a year into city coffers.

The 45 appointees whose salaries are not set by City Council earn from $45,000 to $160,000 and include the chief of staff and deputy city attorneys to policy analysts and communications coordinators.

Twenty-five of those positions are set to receive merit pay increases that average 2.1 percent.

Chief Financial Officer Cary Kennedy said a one-to-one comparison between the early stages of Hancock's administration and the current structure is not fair. Hancock had five fewer appointees and a leadership team still in formation.

"In August 2011, the mayor had only been in office for one month and the administration wasn't fully staffed," she said. "We still had interim department managers and some of the positions have changed. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison."

Additionally, Hancock is operating within the 2013 budget approved last year by City Council, said spokeswoman Amber Miller. And he has five fewer appointees than the city charter allows.

The Denver mayor can appoint up to 65 at-will employees ? 14 of whom fill cabinet positions with salaries preset by City Council. Those positions include manager of public works, aviation manager, police chief, fire chief, undersheriff, city attorney and other department heads.

The independent monitor, who is not a cabinet member, has his salary set by council, as does the mayor.

Hancock earns $145,601 now, but his salary is set to increase in July to $150,406 ? a raise he OK'd when he was on council. Hancock has said he won't accept the raise.

Katy Atkinson, a local political consultant, said the modest growth of the mayor's expenses shouldn't cause concern.

"Denver voters tend to judge their mayors over the big picture instead of the little things," Atkinson said. "As long as he is doing well on the big things, I don't think this is going to cause him problems. A little bit of growth after some serious cutting is not necessarily a bad thing as long as he is able to get the trash picked up, keep fire houses open and fully staff a police department."

So how does Hancock look compared to his predecessor, Mayor John Hickenlooper?

In November 2009, Hickenlooper's administration was at full strength with 54 appointees who were paid $5.9 million. It was months before Gov. Bill Ritter would announce he was not running for re-election and Hickenlooper was planning on a third term as mayor.

In comparison, Hancock has six more appointees than Hickenlooper did at the time. And, adjusted for inflation, Hancock is spending about $300,000 more.

This month, Hancock will give 25 of the 45 eligible appointees merit raises averaging about 2.1 percent. That is below the 2.38 percent average approved for eligible city workers.

Last year, appointees didn't get merit increases due to the city's budget cutbacks. They also had to take five unpaid furlough days.

Several positions have seen pay increases over the past two years because their job assignments have changed, Miller said.

For example, the city's chief sustainability officer now earns $98,000 ? a 33 percent increase over 2011 when the position was titled head of Greenprint Denver and paid $65,500.

The director of Denver's Road Home, the city's homeless initiative, now earns $101,079, a 21 percent increase over 2011 when the position paid $79,956.

Miller herself served as interim communications director and received a 14 percent salary increase.

How the mayor fills out his administration and pays his employees shows his priorities, said Seth Masket, associate professor of political science at the University of Denver.

"Budgeting is governing," Masket said. "You get a real sense of the priorities from where he is spending the money, what is important to his office."

For example, Hancock created a position specifically to address the development occurring in north Denver, shifting the duties of Kelly Leid, who had been director of development services.

He moved deputy chief of staff Evan Dreyer from working with city departments to focusing solely on the mayor's aerotropolis project.

Hancock also appointed three people to handle neighborhood relations and in the early days of his administration formed a policy team that he will soon disband, transferring those responsibilities to agency managers.

At least one critic of the mayor, Susan Barnes-Gelt, says Hancock should not be paying appointees more than cabinet members.

Cabinet members earn a range from $97,734 ( Tom Downey, Excise and Licenses director) to $240,996 (Kim Day, Aviation Manager). Twenty-nine appointees make more than Downey. Frank Daidone, chief information officer and the highest paid non-charter appointee, earns $160,000.

"It's surprising that political appointees are making as much or more than charter cabinet position, because those are set by the market," said Barnes-Gelt, former councilwoman. "The optics of highly paid political appointees in a bad economy when you just raised taxes is not good for a mayor who is trying to demonstrate that he wants to operate an efficient value-based government."

Miller said the administration has had $160,000 in vacancy savings because of the departure of two appointees.

The city's other elected officials also have appointees, and almost every one of them received merit pay increases this year.

Denver's district attorney is allowed 10 appointees under the city's charter, and this year all received merit-pay increases averaging 2.38 percent.

Denver's Auditor has four appointees and three received merit pay increases. Denver's clerk and recorder also gave her two appointees merit increases. All 13 City Council members are allowed to hire appointees who serve as aides. Only two of the 24 aides didn't receive merit increases this year.

Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367, jpmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jpmeyerdpost

Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-news-local-denver-metro/~3/wgriPuF1Rgg/two-years-later-denver-mayor-hancocks-team-is

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