NORWOOD — With the new year and the start of their two-year tenure, new council members combined Norwood's top two administrative positions and slashed others.

        Voting 8-1 on Tuesday, with Democrats trouncing the sole Republican, they repealed the public service director and public safety director positions and created a “public service-safety” directorship.

        Jack Cameron, previously responsible for the city's fire, police and building departments, is now the city's lead administrator. He will assume Vic Schneider's old public service responsibilities, which entail overseeing the city's water, street, public works and infrastructure projects.

        Mr. Schneider is Norwood's new public works superintendent, replacing Kevin Cross, who lost his job in the shuffle. He had worked in that position since February 1996.

        “It was a done deal. They came ready to roll,” Mr. Cameron said. “They knew what they wanted to do and they did it.”

        Norwood had one top administrator until 1995, when Mayor Joe Hochbein proposed a change. The mayor disapproves of the reversal.

        Combining the two positions was done without seeking enough input and is a political maneuver that will overload Mr. Cameron at a critical time, the mayor said.

        “They are railroading major changes through,” he said. “Their first step may have made them feel good by flexing their muscles, but it doesn't keep the city moving properly and it jeopardizes our ability to do (a) road and sewer project.

        “If that's what they want to do, they need to think about the consequences.”

        New council members said the change was exactly what their constituents called for prior to the November election. Also, the positions that they decided not to refinance had been vacant for a long time. Not financing them could save the city at least $200,000, they said.

        “Most of what we did was housekeeping stuff,” new council member Keith Moore said. “It's the voters who told us what they wanted when they were knocking on doors.”

        Joseph W. Sanker, a veteran member, agreed.

        “We hit the ground running. We weren't looking over our shoulder,” he said. “We were just kind of cleaning up the books.”

        He doesn't foresee any problems.

        “We have more technology. We should be able to run more efficiently. (Mr. Cameron) is really the best person for that job. He's a pretty sharp guy,” he said.

        Mr. Cameron receives a 7 percent raise. His new annual salary is $60,000, he said.

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