City Hall Has Openings for Some Top Level Officials

This past week brought word that Mayor Nutter's budget director is leaving for a job in Washington -- the third high-profile departure from his administration in two weeks.

KYW 's Mike Dunn reports Budget Director Stephen Agostini, along with mayor's spokesman Doug Oliver and Emergency Management Director Maryann Tierney, all announced plans to leave the Nutter administration. His managing director, Camille Barnett, left in June.

One veteran City Hall observer, St. Joseph's University historian Randall Miller, says such departures are not unusual at the middle of a mayor's term. But he says one factor may be that the recession has made implementing Nutter's progressive agenda frustrating:

"The frustrations of being on the mayor's team right now, frustrations largely built on the inability to do many of the things that you hoped to be able to do. The Nutter Administration has been running on gas fumes because of the economy."

Both Agostini and Tieney are taking jobs with the federal government, while Oliver is going to PGW:

"They've been able to go to places where they think they'll be able to have a major impact, rather than existing in a state of crisis management."