Nutter also named Gary Steuer, a New Yorker with extensive experience in the world of nonprofit cultural organizations, as the city's chief cultural officer. Steuer will be a member of Nutter's cabinet and work out of the mayor's office.

"We are very serious about arts and culture and the creative economy here in Philadelphia," said Nutter, who was given a standing ovation by the more than 200 members of the arts community who attended the announcement. "Art and culture are not just about pretty pictures and performances. . . . They are also an economic development tool, a tremendous asset for the city."

Philadelphia had an Office of Arts and Culture until 2004, when Mayor John F. Street closed it during a budget crunch. The office's programs were transferred into the Commerce Department, and the city's arts community has thrived without a dedicated office in City Hall.

But arts and cultural leaders were nonetheless keen for Nutter to reestablish the office, which he frequently promised to do while campaigning last year.

"There's been no focal point for inclusion of the arts in the many things that the city does," said Peggy Amsterdam, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. "Whether you're trying to retain residents or stop the brain drain, the arts can play a very important role."

Steuer, who will not join the city officially until October, is a vice president of Americans for the Arts, a large arts advocacy nonprofit. Steuer heads the organization's private sector efforts, trying to increase business support for the arts.

It was not clear how big a staff Steuer will have, though Nutter said that personnel in other departments who work on arts matters might move into the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy. Steuer will be paid $165,000 annually, Nutter said.

The mayor acknowledged at the news conference that it had taken him longer to find a chief cultural officer than he had hoped. During the campaign, he quipped that he would reopen the city's Arts and Culture Office sometime between his inauguration and lunch.

That did not happen, and the mayor took some heat from the arts community for it. Yesterday he said he thought that it was "more important to get it done right than it was to get it done quickly," and he thanked those in attendance for their patience.

Nutter made a series of other personnel announcements yesterday, filling in the last of his major staffing holes:

Allan Frank will leave the private sector to become the city's chief information officer, overseeing the new Division of Technology. Frank is president of a technology consulting company.

Frances Burns, former deputy commissioner of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, was named as the new chief of that much-maligned department. Burns left city government in 2007 for a job at the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, the state agency that oversees the city's budget.

David Wilson, a county executive from Milwaukee, joined the city as deputy managing director for administration. Also, Rebecca Ryhnhart, a deputy director in the Finance Department, was named city treasurer.

Nutter also confirmed the following interim appointees, making them permanent hires: Charles Isdell, director of aviation; Deborah McColloch, director of the Office of Housing and Community Development; Dainette Mintz, director of the Office of Supportive Housing; and James Muller, director of the Office of Fleet Management.

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