Three new Gary officials awarded six-month contracts

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Updated: February 21, 2012 8:25AM

GARY — Some of the Gary natives returning to City Hall will earn more than their predecessors, but they’ll also have more responsibilities, officials said Wednesday.

The Board of Public Works and Safety on Wednesday awarded six-month contracts to city attorney Niquelle Allen, at $47,000; communications director Chelsea Stalling Whittington, $47,000; and Mary Cossey, who will head up the newly formed Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services, for $40,000.

If, as expected, the three department heads’ contracts are renewed, their projected annual salaries — $94,000 each for Allen and Whittington — will be significantly more than their predecessors to match the greater workload, officials said.

The short-term nature of the contracts allowed newly elected Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson to fill the “critical” positions immediately and “hit the ground running using the funds that are currently available in the budget,” according to emailed comments attributed to the mayor.

The statement also indicated the city will seek financial help from “community corporate partners” who have a “vested interest in our city and want to be part of the city’s economic resurrection,” though those companies were not named.

Allen, who returned to Gary from a large law firm in Indianapolis, said she will focus entirely on city work.

“This is my full-time employment,” she said.

Whittington, who said she will not get health or other benefits for now, said she is expected to be more than a spokeswoman, expanding Gary’s presence with more marketing and a social media campaign, and assisting the administration in becoming more transparent.

“We wanted to start on a contractual basis to essentially show an elevation of this role and what it’s going to require as far as the higher salary,” Whittington said.

Cossey will be City Hall’s point person for constituents with questions, concerns or ideas for the new administration, Whittington said. She will work with dedicated representatives from each government department.

“We wanted to have an area where all the different concerns can be corralled and assigned to people who can get constituents their answers,” Whittington said.