Collinsville savings combo

Collinsville just appointed its community development director to be its interim city manager, bumping his $83,880 salary to $105,480 — at least temporarily.

Which makes us wonder: Should it become permanent?

Not to lobby for or against Mitch Bair — it remains to be seen whether he’s the best candidate for the job. Rather, Collinsville city leaders should consider whether this is an opportunity to merge the jobs permanently.

Bair said the arrangement has been working because of teamwork by city department heads. Some delegation and cooperation could make the situation continue to work and save the city more than $80,000 in salary, which might be a relatively painless way to deal with the state shorting the city on revenue shares.

Bair’s use of a city car came up as city leaders were discussing his appointment.

Mayor John Miller said the car should be used in the city for city business and not for Bair to commute to his home in St. Louis. Miller is right on this point.

Nice to see that Miller got in touch with his ethical side after “Dirtgate.” Whether you are accepting fill dirt from city contractors, using city credit cards for personal purchases or using a city car for personal business, it all has a cost and all harms the city residents you swore to serve.

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Collinsville savings combo."