By Ken Alltucker
Enquirer staff writer

Former Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau chief executive Lisa Haller will be paid a severance package of nearly $200,000.

Haller, who resigned in May after serving the first two years of a three-year contract, signed a letter July 9 accepting terms of the severance package.

The package includes Haller's annual salary ($173,400); a performance bonus ($10,837); 101/2 days of unused vacation ($7,002); car allowance ($7,200); and pension, health, dental and life insurance benefits through May 2005. She also will be reimbursed for business expenses incurred before her resignation.

Bureau leaders say Haller's severance payout will not affect the bureau's day-to-day spending decisions.

"It has no impact at all," said Alan Welch, the bureau's interim chief executive on loan from Procter & Gamble. "The money we are paying Lisa is absolutely no more than we would have paid her if she was still working here. It has zero impact on our budget and spending decisions."

Haller, whose tenure was marked by high staff turnover and slumping convention bookings, could not be reached Tuesday.

The bureau has made tough choices for its $4.8 million annual budget, including some cuts in advertising and summer tourism programs. The bureau's budget primarily comes from bed-tax receipts from Hamilton County hotels and membership dues.

E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com