It would be one thing if this position had a correlation between the salary and revenue producing but alas? It doesn’t matter if it’s filled or not. Instead of saying “look we are saving money by not filling the position!” The question that I raise is “WHAT DO THIS TWO DO?!” After all, the marketing of the convention center and the running of the convention center is completely outsourced.
The tax collection is handled by the county treasury office.
What tasks are left to the authority? Fulfilling the meager right-to-know requests?
The authorizing statute requires an executive director. Why does this authority need anything more than one room and a cell phone to handle the few calls they receive.
This guy is taking home over 11k PER MONTH and WHAT is he doing to deserve that much? I am betting that we could get someone OVER qualified for 1/2 the cost. Remember how upset people were when our State Senators got a raise for 45 thousands LESS THAN THIS GUY MAKES?! And that was in good times.
Giving a 7k raise in these times demonstrates a complete and total disconnect from the reality that most of us live!
I’m sure that PENN SQUARE PARTNERS have their greedy little minds behind this….they have NO consideration for the taxpayers that are footing the bill on this white elephant.
In all fairness, Kevin Molloy and Mary Ellen Davis spend almost all of their time watching over Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the manager of both the hotel and convention center (which has total and complete control over the operations of both).
IHR operates the hotel and the convention center as an “integrated facility” (their description), with THREE sets of books: the hotel, the convention center, and the “Condominium Association” (for which taxpayers must pay half of everything). Kevin Molloy and Mary Ellen Davis have been very carefully monitoring all of the expenditures being charged back to taxpayers. Since the LCCCA (meaning taxpayers) is responsible for the building maintenance of the convention hall, ALL of the meeting rooms, ALL of the prefunction space (hallways etc.), the kitchen, most of the lobby space, and some of the offices, this can be a very complex task.
Kevin Molloy and Mary Ellen Davis really do perform important tasks to help protect the interests of taxpayers. Any discussion about their salaries is a separate issue.
There is quite a bit more to this issue than meets the eye. The ONLY people that serve to protect us taxpayers from the Penn Square Partners are the LCCCA Finance Committee, Mary Ellen Davis, and Kevin Molloy. The LCCCA Finance Committee meets once a month, where it hears a presentation from Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the joint manager of the “integrated facility”. Members of the LCCCA Finance committee can – and do – question the numbers provided by IHR, but they often don’t have all of the background.
Mary Ellen Davis spends quite a bit of her time monitoring the expenditure of taxpayer dollars by Interstate Hotels and Resorts, in addition to her other duties. From the information she presents at LCCCA meetings, it is obvious that she is carrying a heavy work load.
Kevin Molloy is the ONLY person available full-time to keep tabs on IHR and the PSP. Kevin does not assume ANYTHING, and keeps a close eye on IHR’s operation of the convention center. Without someone of Kevin Molloy’s abilities, there would be numerous opportunities for the Penn Square Partners to take even more money from taxpayers than they do right now.
The other thing that Kevin Molloy does is go on sales calls with reps from Interstate Hotels and Resorts, and from the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau. IHR manages both the hotel and the convention center, so they have no incentive to drive business toward the taxpayer-controlled meeting rooms (already there appear to be more small meetings in the hotel’s part of the facility, allowing the PSP to collect more meeting revenue than the LCCCA). Kevin Molloy is the ONLY individual who is in a position to advocate the convention center during a sales meeting.
My concern about this project all along has been its cost to taxpayers. Kevin Molloy and Mary Ellen Davis are the only two people employed full-time in this facility who work to protect the interests of taxpayers like us.
Do you really trust the Penn Square Partners and Interstate Hotels and Resorts to always do what is in the best interests of taxpayers? Just look at all the ways they have taken advantage of taxpayers and manipulated government officials in the recent past.
Perfect solution: The board should bring in an outsider skilled in pay determination to evaluate the positions and tell the board what the going market pay should be. There is a lot of talent out here looking for work my friends, the Showcase is up and running and Mr. M. did a great job getting us here, now we just need a gate keeper.
Easy solution to all this however I will be a dollar things will just go on as usual and when we need more money, RAISE THE BED TAX. This is government at work, SPEND AND TAX.