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Steve Myers
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City Hall has been rampant with speculation that the city's top two financial officials were suspended in separate incidents, but the mayor's office has so far refused to comment.
If true, the two - City Finance Director Peter Dobrzeniecki and City Treasurer James Goodin - would be the latest top city officials to get into hot water with Mayor Don Williamson.
Dobrzeniecki, who was on the job Thursday, said he couldn't respond to questions without permission from the mayor.
The Flint Journal couldn't reach Goodin for comment, and an employee said he was out of the office until next week.
But 9th Ward Councilman Scott Kincaid said he heard that Goodin violated a mayoral directive, while Dobrzeniecki either made an inappropriate statement to another city official or told Williamson a bill had been paid when it hadn't, according to different accounts.
Williamson opponents say the apparent incidents, if true, are more examples of the mayor's dictatorial style that has turned City Hall into a place where employees constantly fear for their jobs.
The council voted on Monday to subpoena the mayor over alleged employee intimidation.
"The guy just doesn't know how to deal with people," Kincaid said. "He's got no people skills whatsoever. He needs to go to a Dale Carnegie class on how to win friends and influence people."
Williamson is out of town on vacation and unavailable for comment. But he has contended in the past tht criticism about his managerial style is politically motivated, and he's doing what earlier mayors didn't - hold employees accountable when they break the rules.
Joe Conroy, the city's governmental operations director, refused to comment Thursday about the rumored suspensions. In the past two weeks, he said he needed to consult Personnel Director Deirdre Pitts, who is on vacation, before commenting on the issue.
Williamson already has lost three appointees since July 1. Flo McCormack, head of the now-defunct community and neighborhood services department, was fired after being suspended for two months without pay after she went to two job-related conferences on her own time against Williamson's wishes.
Parks Director Douglas R. Gibbs was fired in November after he didn't come forward about getting paid twice what he should have, and Fire Chief Bob Elizondo left in December for another job.
Last fall, city union officials also accused the mayor of snap firings that were later reversed and resulted in back pay awards, but Williamson produced a document claiming the firings were legitimate and no back pay was given.
Kincaid said he hopes the city doesn't lose Dobrzeniecki, and credited him for the turnaround in the city's financial reporting practices, a problem that helped fuel large deficits and a state takeover.
"It would be a huge loss," Kincaid said. "Peter D. single-handedly restructured the finance department where we went from a process of no accountability to a process of accountability."
Full Story:
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1109953333251980.xml |
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Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:24 am |
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