The City Council got the explanation for the restructuring at its budget workshop in early February. At the time, new city manager Becky Hawke said it was a “tearing down” of the existing structure, and starting from the ground up.
"So I've sort of described it like tentacles have sort of developed over the years, and so we sort of took personalities out of it and said, What's the work? And restructured accordingly with that," she said.
It involved taking the communication and HR departments under the newly created Chief of Staff position. The structural changes went into effect on Monday, as the city continues work on its budget plan for the coming fiscal year. At the February meeting, Hawke said there could be staff cuts to help pay for a planned wage increase at the city.
"There may be a few positions that we're able to then say, hey, after we redid all of this, we actually don't need 1,197 people. It may be a slightly lower number. Those dollars could then become available to help implement this pay plan increase. But we are trying to keep the two separate," she said.
The restructuring comes alongside some high-profile exits from the city’s management. Two heads in trash and recycling were fired, and a deputy city manager, director of economic development, HR director, and zoning administrator resigned in the past few months. Some of those departures have led to consternation among observers of city hall.
The most recent departure is Chief of Code Enforcement Brian Renner. Several sources familiar with the situation told WHQR that Renner had been fired on Friday. The city said it could not comment "as his employment determination is not yet final," according to a spokesperson. (It is likely the city cannot confirm Renner's status until after an eligible appeal is heard by a peer review board, which makes recommendations to Hawke, who then has the final say as city manager.)
The city did address reports that Renner had been walked out of the building by security, saying "nobody has been escorted out of any building."
Hawke declined a request for an interview about the overall reorganizational efforts.
