Top county official keeps salary despite demotion

Hamilton County's top administrator will keep his $180,000 salary despite a demotion this week that removed him from all economic development activities.

County commissioners decided Wednesday they wouldn't change Christian Sigman's pay even though they have significantly changed his responsibilities, concluding he still had plenty of work to do as county administrator.

They also decided not to raise the pay of Jeff Aluotto, the assistant county administrator who is taking over Sigman's economic development duties.

The result is a wash for taxpayers who pay the county's bills, but it still leaves questions about how exactly the new arrangement will work. Traditionally, the county administrator has headed Hamilton County's economic development efforts, which include work on major items such as stadium construction and The Banks riverfront project.

The commissioners removed Sigman from economic development after he wrote an email to Cincinnati officials two weeks ago that criticized the developer of The Banks and questioned whether it was time to find a new one to lead the project.

All three commissioners said Sigman's comments did not reflect their views of the developer, Carter & Associates. They called a meeting Monday to discuss it and decided to strip economic development from Sigman's job description.

They met again in a closed-door meeting Wednesday and concluded they did not need to formally vote on changing Sigman's job. Instead, they informed him of the change and talked about what Sigman will and won't be permitted to do.

The list, as it turns out, goes beyond just traditional economic development and The Banks project. Commissioner Todd Portune said Sigman will no longer work on any project south of Third Street because that area encompasses The Banks.

That means Sigman can't work on stadium-related issues, something he had been closely involved with for years. His work on stadium financing helped stabilize a stadium fund that was in dire straights after years of lower-than-expected sales tax collections. Sigman has issued a statement saying he welcomes the guidance commissioners provided this week, but he deferred to them regarding details of the arrangement.

Though the new structure is unusual, commissioners said they're confident it will work. They said Aluotto has been involved in most of the projects and should be able to jump in.

"I don't think it's going to be a distraction or a disturbance," said Commissioner Chris Monzel. "I don't think it's going to be a problem."

As for Sigman's salary, Portune said commissioners saw no reason to change it. He said overseeing county finances, the budget, the administrative staff and major issues such as the future of the Metropolitan Sewer District will keep him busy.

"He still has an awful lot of work to do," Portune said.