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Blog and Media Roundup - Sunday, April 17, 2011; News Roundup
Topic Started: Apr 17 2011, 04:49 AM (537 Views)
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/12821918/article-Director-fired-over--persistent-complaints-?instance=main_article

Director fired over 'persistent complaints'
04.17.11 - 12:16 am
By Ray Gronberg

gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648

DURHAM -- A termination letter signed by City Manager Tom Bonfield said he fired the former director of Durham's Human Relations Department because of "persistent complaints" about unprofessional conduct that included "mistreatment and intimidation of subordinates."

The April 5 letter, addressed to former Human Relations Director Yvonne Peña, said the problems had cost the city "valuable time, resources and personnel."

They also ran counter to the need for department directors "to maintain the highest levels of professionalism and decorum" in their offices, Bonfield said.

Bonfield added that the termination, being for "just cause," would carry no severance pay.

Officials released a copy of the letter on Friday, six days after The Herald-Sun first reported Peña's dismissal.

The disclosure came in response to a public-records request by the paper.

The N.C. General Assembly and Gov. Beverly Perdue last year approved a law that requires local governments who've fired an employee to release "a copy of the written notice of the final decision of the municipality setting forth the specific acts or omissions that are the basis of the dismissal."

Until that law took effect, such information had been confidential.

Bonfield's letter to Peña also cited "abuse of power in requiring subordinates to violate city policies for your own convenience" as one of the reasons for the firing.

He further said the former director had yelled at subordinates and in general had failed to "maintain a professional and cooperative working environment."

"You have a long history of such complaints, which have been successively investigated and substantiated," the manager told Peña.

Problems cited earlier

A second memo, from June 2007, indicated that there had been problems in Human Relations well before Bonfield took over as city manager.

While former City Manager Patrick Baker was still in charge, Peña was suspended without pay for a day "for behavior that is inappropriate for a department director and for violation of the [city's] petty cash procedure."

The 2007 memo, signed by Peña's then-boss, Deputy City Manager Wanda Page, cited a "loud disagreement" between the former director and a subordinate, Delilah Donaldson, in a pre-discipline conference.

It also officials had verified Peña and others in the department had violated policy by "using others' names to receive cash for purchases made."

Page added that officials had confirmed that Peña had talked to other city employees "about the situation with Ms. Donaldson."

The deputy manager demanded "immediate improvement of this behavior," including adherence to petty cash procedures and attendance at an employee-assistance program to "seek ways to communicate effectively and manage your anger."

Improvement also meant "no extremely loud voices when talking with your employees and no talking about one employee to others," Page told Peña.

Salary was $96K

The firing cost Peña a $96,365 annual salary. She received a last check that covered what was due her from her final payroll, plus $3,600 in compensation for accumulated vacation time, said Alethea Bell, the city's personnel director.

Peña could not be reached for comment. The only published home phone number for her is no longer in service. She also had to give up a city issued cell phone.

Bonfield on Friday said he hadn't heard from a lawyer representing the former director. Attempts to reach Baker, now the city attorney, were unsuccessful.

Donaldson is serving as the Human Relations Department's interim director.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12811228/article-Letters--April-17?instance=opinion_hs_letters

Crystal Mangum

This is the person whose actions let to the exposure of an at best disingenuous district attorney, corrupt police officials who fabricated damning evidence, a cowardly and ingratiating college president who cost his university millions in judgements, and an agenda-driven newspaper editor who inflamed public outrage over irrelevant issues.

Well, here's your poster girl. fellows. In addition to everything else, you have now become enablers. Hope you are all proud of yourselves.

DAVID HIGHLANDS

St. Petersburg, Fla.
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longstop
longstop
Those Taxpayers are sure paying some big salaries ?

Human Relations Director Yvonne Peña,

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12720688/article-City-manager-fires-director-of-HR?instance=most_popular

Photo of Ms Pena in article.

snip

Peña had been the city's human relations director since 2002. Before her discharge Tuesday, she'd been making $94,365 a year plus allowances for a car and a cell phone, said Alethea Bell, the city's personnel director.

snip


Edited by longstop, Apr 17 2011, 09:17 AM.
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Quasimodo


http://dukefactchecker.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-birthday-dick-brodhead.html


4/17/2011
Happy Birthday, Dick Brodhead!!

Quote:
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_H._Brodhead

Richard Halleck Brodhead (born April 17, 1947) currently serves as the ninth president of Duke University and is a scholar of 19th-century American literature.
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