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Councilmember Price questions hiring, training and exit-interview practices and cites retaliation concerns
Summary
Councilmember Timishea Price raised multiple workplace concerns at the Oct. 21 meeting, asking whether the new water-operator position was offered to current staff, requesting exit interviews and alleging a 'good ol' boy' network; she told employees who feel retaliated against they may contact council or the FBI.
Councilmember Timishea Price used the Oct. 21 meeting to press city leaders on hiring practices, employee training and exit interviews, and to raise allegations of favoritism.
Price asked whether the newly hired water operator position had been offered to existing employees and said the director’s response that the process had been followed was incorrect, according to the transcript. She alleged a "good ol' boy" network had influenced hiring in the City of Reynolds and said the new employee "cannot fix water pipes, cut grass or read meters," arguing the hire may not match the city's operational needs.
Price requested that the council pull minutes for a November meeting to verify a prior vote on time clocks and said she wants systematic exit interviews for all departing employees; she referenced a Public Works staffer who recently left as an example and argued exit interviews should be standard across departments.
She also questioned training allocations, saying there is "no funding for training," yet elected officials such as the mayor and city clerk attend training while equipment operators (named in the transcript as Roderick and Bennie) do not receive the same opportunities. Price said anyone who believes they are being retaliated against by the City of Reynolds or who witnesses wrongdoing "can contact any of the City Council or contact the FBI at 304-625-2000." The transcript records the director replying, "we have been through that already," a response Price disputed.
The transcript does not record a formal personnel action or vote in response to her allegations; council did not take immediate corrective action during the meeting. Price’s comments were recorded for follow-up, including her request that minutes be retrieved and the staffing/training questions be examined at a future work session.
Next steps: Council will consider Price’s requests for documented minutes and further discussion of personnel procedures at an upcoming work session; no personnel decisions were made at the Oct. 21 meeting.
