By Frank Donze, July 17, 2006
Staff Writer, The Times-Picayune
Greg Meffert, the brash computer whiz recruited by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in 2002 to bring digital technology to a horse-and-buggy city government, has resigned, becoming the last original member of Nagin’s inner circle to leave the administration.
Meffert, who as chief technology officer was considered one of Nagin’s most trusted advisers, submitted his resignation on Friday, according to a joint statement released Monday night by Meffert and Nagin. The statement said Meffert will return to the private sector, though it did not give details, and said Nagin appointment Mark Kurt to replace Meffert effective immediately.
"We sincerely regret the loss of Greg Meffert to this administration and are now challenged with the task of recruiting a qualified individual to fill his shoes as we continue to rebuild our City," Nagin said in the statement. "Greg has been instrumental in our recovery and revitalization efforts and will truly be missed."
"This is a very positive thing and was a purely personal decision for me to re-enter the private sector. It has been an intense and challenging position, but also immensely rewarding four years," Meffert said in the statement.
Meffert methodically expanded his realm of responsibilities over the past four years to include oversight of planning, permitting and historic preservation.
After making it clear during the recently completed mayoral campaign that he would step down if his boss won a second term, Meffert had a change of heart following Nagin’s victory in May. In fact, he had recently been rumored as a potential candidate to fill a powerful new job that Nagin is contemplating to oversee major aspects of the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
Meffert’s departure surprised some of his colleagues and City Hall observers, who privately noted Monday that he had attended meetings all last week without mentioning a possible exit. During a wide-ranging, two-hour interview with The Times-Picayune on Thursday, Meffert gave no indication that he was on the verge of leaving.
As recently as Friday, Nagin himself implied that Meffert would continue to be an integral part of his team. In an e-mail Friday, Nagin said Meffert was not under consideration for the so-called “recovery czar’’ post he intends to create, but that he expected Meffert to play a major role in his plan to fill the post.
The mayor also wrote on Friday that Meffert and City Attorney Penya Moses-Fields “are taking the lead on how to set up a Recovery Department,’’ a task that Nagin said would include a national search “for the right person.’’
An Internet entrepreneur largely unknown in political circles, Meffert was drafted by Nagin at the outset of the administration to bring City Hall into the modern computer age. Nagin, a former cable television executive who placed an emphasis on technology during his 2002 mayoral campaign, often joked that compared to many cities, New Orleans was primitive.
“I don’t know how to give you an analogy that makes sense,’’ Nagin said as he announced Meffert’s appointment. “I was accustomed to George Jetson, and now I’m in Fred Flintstone’s world.’’
Nagin set Meffert’s salary at $150,000, placing the chief technology officer on the same footing as the chief administrative officer, traditionally the top appointed job in city government.
As he signed on to Nagin’s team Meffert offered a glimpse of his glib — some called it arrogant — style by reminding the public that he was taking a pay cut to come aboard. While declining to discuss his private sector salary with illumine Inc., a New Orleans software company, Meffert said when stock options and other perks were factored in, accepting the job with the Nagin administration likely would cost him $1 million or more over the next few years.
At times, Meffert showed little patience for the slow pace of city government. In his drive to make drastic changes in how business is done at City Hall, he sometimes ruffled the feathers of elected officials.
City Council members and Orleans Parish assessors claimed they were left out of the loop when Meffert took the unprecedented step of posting the tax rolls on the Internet, a move that helped foster spirited public debate about the inequity of the city's assessment practices.
Since Katrina, as media hordes from around the world have descended on New Orleans, Meffert has often acted as a spokesman for the administration, appearing on cameras during an episode of “60 Minutes’’ and being referred in newspaper articles as “deputy mayor,’’ a position that does not exist.
Despite his critics, Meffert delivered in many ways on his promise to improve technology and make New Orleans’ government more efficient. Under his watch, the city's Web was overhauled so citizens can now apply online for building permits and pay parking tickets and property tax bills.
