By Brenna Angel
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Soon after Jim Gray took office as Mayor of Lexington, he brought back the position of Chief Administrative Officer and hired Richard Moloney for the job.
Under a proposal before the Urban County Council, the CAO would oversee several more departments, including the Division of Planning, Division of Government Communications, and Division of Risk Management. At a recent council meeting, Moloney gave the reasons for the changes.
"It's not only cost savings we've done here, it's efficiency. And I think that's the main thing that this mayor wants is to make sure this government runs efficiently."
But Councilmember George Myers wants a better explanation of how the reorganization of city departments would lead to improvements.
"I'd still really like to hear how we're going to gain efficiencies; why you guys are really doing it. I think you have more of a reason behind it than just before the previous administration, this is the way it was."
Some of the changes have already been implemented, but the Urban County Council must still approve any formal modifications to the city's organizational structure.