Philadelphia Parking Authority axes three consultants

The Philadelphia Parking Authority has terminated the contracts of three politically connected consultants and halved the monthly fee it pays its top Harrisburg lobbyist, which could result in a savings to taxpayers of about $192,000 a year.

The contracts were the subject of an Inquirer report last year, which revealed that the authority had spent nearly $1.5 million in the previous seven years on public relations consultants and lobbyists - the equivalent of roughly 57,000 parking tickets.

Retired schoolteacher and ward leader James T. Dintino was among the consultants whose contracts were canceled.

For more than four years, he collected $4,000 a month from the authority. According to his contract, his duties were to write news releases, organize news conferences, assist with "community outreach," and otherwise "act as a media consultant."

The Inquirer could not find a single press release with Dintino's name on it. He was not quoted once in a general-circulation newspaper on the parking agency's behalf. And leaders of six big civic associations in South Philadelphia - where Dintino lives - said he had never discussed Parking Authority business with them.

The authority also:

Eliminated a $4,000 monthly contract with Frank Gillen, who was a senior official with the Teamsters until he was ousted in August for allegedly lying to a court-supervised federal panel.

Halved its $10,000 monthly payment to the Harrisburg lobbying firm Pugliese Associates.

Terminated a $3,000-a-month contract with Philadelphia political consultant Howard Cain.

"The Philadelphia Parking Authority is committed to working with Mayor Nutter to do the best job possible while providing the city with much needed revenue," authority spokesman Martin O'Rourke said in an e-mail.

"The revision and elimination of some professional consulting contracts is part of the Parking Authority's overall effort to reduce costs and generate as much revenue as possible for the City of Philadelphia."

O'Rourke is among a number of media consultants still under contract with the authority. His firm will continue to be paid $10,000 a month.

The cancellation of the consultant contracts appears to be part of an effort by the authority to to reduce its expenses.

Retiring senior executives have not been replaced, while those still there have taken a 6 percent pay cut. Eighteen middle managers had their agency cars taken away. Now, the consulting contracts have been pared down.

The trims have followed a series of articles in The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News that highlighted the agency's free-spending ways.

In December, under intense political pressure from a grassroots group called Parents United for Public Education, the authority vowed it would pay the city $25 million this fiscal year and generate $1.25 million extra for the schools.

Yet, however big a profit the authority generates this year, scrutiny of the agency is unlikely to end. Last month, House Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.) hired former federal prosecutor L. George Parry to analyze the agency's spending practices, and Gov. Rendell has asked City Controller Alan Butkovitz to conduct a comprehensive audit.