News
Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Sports agency chief gets raise
Henry Saavedra signs a contract to head the Tampa Sports Authority for three more years.
By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published July 24, 2007
TAMPA - The head of the Tampa Sports Authority got a new contract Monday that keeps him in place at least a year after the 2009 Super Bowl comes to town.
Authority board members tweaked Henry Saavedra's contract before extending his tenure as executive director for another three years. Saavedra has held the post for the last decade.
The board voted to increase his base salary from $200,000 a year to $205,000. But it froze a contract clause for 2007 that would have given Saavedra an additional 2.5 percent increase - a cost-of-living allotment approved for all Hillsborough County employees.
Jim Norman, chairman of the Hillsborough County Commission and a Sports Authority member, objected to Saavedra's car allowance. There had been no cap on an automobile expenditure in the past. An executive committee recommended setting the limit at $500 a month, but board members decreased it to $300.
The board set no limit on how much Saavedra could spend in other car-related costs, like gasoline. Norman wanted a system similar to county commissioners, who receive a flat auto allowance.
"The way things used to be aren't the way things are now," Norman said. "There's been tightening in a lot of areas."
He was unable to sway the board.
Board members also elected new officers for 2007-08. Kalyn Brandewie became the chairwoman, replacing Mark Proctor. Vincent Marchetti will serve as vice chairman, and Norman was elected secretary/treasurer.
Kevin Graham can be reached at 813 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com
[Last modified July 24, 2007, 00:41:40]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
|
by voxpopuli
|
07/24/07 03:29 PM
|
|
you're not even factoring in the amt it cost us for him to fight to be able to pat people down at tampa stadium. That's HIS baby, yknow. Like it makes us all safer. That was a TON of money fighting the Constitution !!
|
|
by Charlie
|
07/24/07 03:20 PM
|
|
Yeah Leea, just think if they hadn't given him that raise, your tax bill could have been a tenth of a cent lower.
|
|
by anonymous
|
07/24/07 10:49 AM
|
|
I totally agree with Jack - Also maybe they should look into the salaries of other TSA employees who are in jobs that they are not qualified for but are getting paid for.
|
|
by Karen
|
07/24/07 10:43 AM
|
|
Let County Commissioners give up 1/2 of their car allowance and their pay increase(s). Distribute tax monies to programs that benefit the majority of folks (poor to middle-class), not to expensive sports facilities that only benefit the wealthy.
|
|
by Jack
|
07/24/07 08:14 AM
|
|
$205,000 for what? TSA looses millions every year. What little they do earn is immediately given to the Glazers. The County should consider eliminating this agency rather than terminating library, parks, and other County employees with famlies.
|
|
by Leea
|
07/24/07 07:45 AM
|
|
More fleecing of the tax payers....no wonder taxes can't be lowered!
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Letter to the editor
