Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council committee presses parks oversight after HR finds director withheld info; letters to go to three readings
Summary
A Baberton City Council committee advanced two letters — one expressing no confidence in the parks commission and another opposing the mayor’s choice for the commission chair — to three readings after HR and the law director described communication and accounting problems in the parks department.
The City Properties, Parks and Recreation committee advanced two letters to three readings on Feb. 23 after an extended review of personnel and financial concerns involving the parks department. The items were requested by Councilman Dallas Moore and prompted questions from the human resources and law offices.
Jamie Iceman, the city’s human resources director, told the committee she recommended that the parks director be placed on paid administrative leave and later recommended termination for dishonesty after an investigation. “I did recommend administrative leave,” Iceman said, describing HR’s involvement and the timeline for notification to HR.
Law Director Lisa Miller told the panel she had not been invited to a parks commission executive session held Jan. 8 and emphasized the limits of the commission’s authority on personnel matters. “I was not asked. I was not,” Miller said when asked whether legal counsel had been requested for that session.
Council members questioned multiple practices under the parks director and commission, including whether the parks and recreation program guide had been approved by the commission, the handling and accounting of a jewelry-sale fundraiser, informal sponsorship procedures used for events such as trunk-or-treat, and unusual purchase orders — a truck-detailing expense (about $150), a jacket charge and a recurring $1,800-per-month cleaning contract tied to the Active Adult Center. Committee members also raised a report that the parks director had set up a separate Verizon hotspot account; staff said directors generally should not enter into such contracts without authorization.
Mayor William Judge told the committee he had prepared a department-wide performance-improvement plan and asked for time to implement corrective steps. “Give me a month to look into this and make some changes,” the mayor said. Several council members replied that while the mayor could pursue reforms, statutory authority over discipline and commission removals rests in specific charter procedures and the parks commission’s role.
After more than two hours of testimony, debate and public comment — including calls from council members and residents that the director be removed — the committee voted to place both letters on three readings so council can consider formal action after additional review.
What’s next: both letters will appear on future council agendas for the required readings. The committee’s recorded motion to advance them means the council’s formal consideration will follow the city’s legislative timetable.
