Interim mayor Myron Lowery has halted several personnel changes former mayor Willie Herenton made in his last days in office.
Lowery has halted, for now, four new hires in the city's legal department and the transfer of Herenton's former scheduler, Joyce Douglass, to the legal department.
Douglass was moved from her position handling Herenton's calendar to the position of Contract Compliance Officer in the legal department July 18. When asked specifically about Douglass over the last two weeks, Human Resources director Lorene Essex said Douglass' move had not been finalized.
Former city spokeswoman Toni Holmon-Turner has been moved to the Human Resources department, but it isn't clear if Lowery has held her move.
Besides Douglass, Lowery has halted the hiring of a senior assistant city attorney, an assistant city attorney, a contract compliance supervisor and a claims analyst.
Lowery said he wants former U.S. Atty. Veronica Coleman-Davis to review the proposed hires. Coleman-Davis is now serving as deputy director of the city's legal vision until a City Council vote on her nomination to replace current City Atty. Elbert Jefferson takes place Tuesday.
Lowery fired Jefferson Friday and had him escorted out of City Hall by security. Jefferson sued and a judge granted Jefferson an injunction allowing him to stay on the job.
God bless you Myron. You have 90 days, and you are already off to a good start. Bring integrity, honesty, and class back to city government.
Keep them coming. The more the merrier. Block ACW from getting the job. I love it.
Just like that sneaky herenten to make last minute changes and hirings to the city before he walks out the door costing the taxpayers even more money while he feathers his cronies' nests.
Especially in the legal department that has cost the city mucho dollars over 18 years with outside lawyers. then he wants to add more city lawyers who will do nothing because they hire outside lawyers who are friends of Willie? YEAH RIGHT. We need that like an octopus needs another arm.
Since the city HR Director (according to the city's website) apparently has no formal education in Human Resources, I guess the "Spokeswoman" is equally qualified to be employed in HR. Perhaps this explains up to this point, why there has been such recent success in lawsuits against the city's hiring practices because of poor decisions made by people who were unqualified for their jobs in the first place. How do these successful lawsuits impact the citizens? Renter's pay more rent, homeowners pay more property tax, and city services in general, end up underfunded. Community centers, libraries, and summer programs for kids are the first things to go.
Why does a city need a "legal vision"? What is a "legal vision"? These and other perplexing questions should be answered in a follow-up soon. Enquiring minds want to know!