Title V of Promesa creates the figure of the Revitalization Coordinator.  According to the Law, “The Revitalization Coordinator (RC) shall be compensated at an annual rate determined by the Oversight Board sufficient in the judgment of the Oversight Board to obtain the services of a person with the skills and experience required to discharge the duties of the position, but such compensation shall not exceed the annual salary of the Executive Director (ED).” It is clear from these compensation requirements that Congress considers the position of RC similar in nature to that of the ED.  In other words, both positions serve to the pleasure of the Board and the RV responding to the ED.  The only way to fully comply with this is for both of them being direct employees of the Oversight Board (OB).  The OB is a territorial government entity and it will be a circumvent of the Puerto Rico laws to appoint key figures of the entity through professional service contracts, either directly with the person or indirectly through a consulting firm.

The Revitalization Coordinator will be the lead person in reviewing and recommending to the OB as Critical Projects certain public and private initiatives to improve Puerto Rico´s infrastructure and promote economic growth.  In addition, the RC will be in charge of the Interagency Environmental Sub-Committee and will have power over Puerto Rico permitting Agencies to implement the Expedited Permitting Process for Critical Projects authorized by Promesa.  The RC will also be responsible for the Public Involvement process as part of the Critical Projects implementation.

Putting in the hands of a “contractor” the highly sensitive responsibilities of the RC is a risk the OB doesn’t need to take.  In addition, it is my opinion that the RC should be a person with prior experience in the implementation of infrastructure projects in Puerto Rico.  Otherwise, the learning curve will be so steep that Puerto Rico best interest will not be served. 

Lastly, why pay $1.0 million for an RC? If the RC is contracted through the Strategic Consultant as inferred today by Mr. Carrión in the El Nuevo Día article will significantly increase the cost to taxpayers.  Using the sub-contracting approach you need to consider the persons salary, the overhead and profit of the firm (2.5 multiplier), living expenses, etc.