The City has hauled out the axe from its tool box and chopped and chipped away at some of its long term employees again. I hope those whose roles were disbanded or reduced were treated with the respect that the law affords, and if they were not that they avail themselves of the legal talent in Prince George.
Much of the communications team was chopped just before the City advertised for a new Director of Communications.
Deciding that nobody in Prince George knew how to communicate, the City went outside of Prince George in its search for someone who knew how to communicate. It appears it did not find someone in its image, or that those who might have applied did not like what they saw. So City Manager, Beth James, decided that she would be the communicator. Perhaps she would be excellent at it. Who knows? We did not hear from her when many complaints were made about Mayor Shari Greens suggestion that there were greener pastures for naysayers. Maybe Ms. James felt that it was not her responsibility to communicate to residents on behalf of the Mayor, unless or until she became the official communicator for the City. We can wait and see.
Terms of Colleen Van Mooks departure were not provided in the press release that Ms. James provided on Friday, February 22, 2014. Why not include that the terms of Ms. Van Mooks departure were amicable, gracious, or generous? Does Ms. James care about the people who served Prince George for a long time before she did, enough so that she would include in her press release details about the accomplishments, contributions, and personalities of the people axed? Maybe a supplemental press release will follow.
While the eyes of the world are on our local shining Olympians and our natural resources, our Mayor and our City Manager continue to show disregard to the residents of Prince George and to its employees. If we cannot feel secure in our city with all the to and fro, how can those whose eyes are upon us?
Jacqueline B. Levesque
Prince George
