Four months into his administration, Mayor Nutter has yet to name permanent appointees to more than a dozen senior positions, including the top jobs at departments of Human Services, Recreation, Public Property, Water, Planning, and Licenses and Inspections.

It is not unusual for mayors to leave a few spots open well into their first year in office. John F. Street, for instance, didn’t pick a permanent streets commissioner until June, and it took him until July to find a commerce director. But neither Street nor his predecessor, Ed Rendell, had so many vacancies and interim appointees this far into his first term.

“It’s raised some eyebrows around town. There are people, especially in the business community, who are surprised it’s taken as long as it has,” said Zack Stalberg, executive director of the Committee of Seventy, a government watchdog group.