Who is Phyllis Brooks?
March 11, 2022
I received a phone call asking if I was aware that City employee Phyllis Brooks was terminated from her job after 38 years of service to the City. I hadn’t heard, and if it’s true, it’s the second worse thing I’ve heard and it’s right up there with James not renewing the lease for Mr. Bosley’s Urban Farm.
Let’s take a look.
Ms. Brooks was hired by the City Of WPB in 1984 and was terminated in Feb.2022.
Mayors of WPB from 1984–2022
Dwight Baber, Carol Roberts, Samuel A. Thomas, Richard V. Reikenis, Pat Pepper Schwab, James O. Poole, John F. “Jeff” Koons, Nancy M. Graham, Joel Daves, Lois Frankel, Jeri Muoio and Keith James.
When Ms. Brooks started her career with the City it was run by City Managers She worked under 2 City Managers Paul Steinbrenner & Ron Schutta.
Strong Mayor form of Government, came with name change from Manager to Administrator.
Nancy Graham was the City’s first “Strong Mayor form of Government, and served from November 1991 until March 25, 1999. Along with her new title she introduced Related to the City.
City Manager/ Administrator
Paul Steinbrenner, Ron Schutta, Michael Wright, Ed Mitchell, Jeff Green and Faye Johnson.
At this point in City history Ms. Brooks has worked successfully under 11 mayors and 5 City Managers/Administrators until the election of Mayor Keith James who hired City Administrator Faye Johnson when in my opinion life changed for Ms. Brooks.
I sent the email below to the 5 Commissioners and did not include James & Johnson.
March 9, 2022 10:08 AM It is my understanding the City Commissioners have 2 employees, Executive Administrative Assistant and (1) Administrative Assistant to assist the Commissioner’s in their duties.
The Executive Administration Assistant, Ms. Phyllis Brooks was terminated from her job in Feb. 2022 after 38 years of service to the city.
I also understand a vote was taken by the City Commissioners to approve her termination.
Commissioners Fox, Lambert, Peduzzi, Shoaf and Warren was the vote for removal unanimous?
Did any of you vote against her removal? What reason were you given for her removal?
This termination not only has me upset but has left the remaining City employees with low morale, Job insecurity, stress, fear, and anxiety they will be next. Did any of you consider the effects your action have taken? How is the remaining Administrative Assistant coping doing the work of 2 people?
I am anxious for your reply.
Wed, Mar 9, 2022 5:06 pm Response F/ Commissioner Peduzzi: ” It would be inappropriate for me to respond to your request for information, as this is an employee/personnel issue. Please forward any request for information to assistant city administrator José Luis Rodriguez for consideration.”
Peduzzi CC 4 Commissioner and included Johnson. Possible head’s up?
Thu, Mar 10, 2022 8:06 am I forwarded the email to Mr. Rodriguez.
“Good morning Mr. Rodriguez,I am forwarding you an email that was sent by me to all 5 Commissioners and a response received from Commissioner Peduzzi, who obviously choose to pass the buck to you. My request and Peduzzi response can be read in this email.”
Thu, Mar 10, 2022 2:14 pm Response “Thank you for your email. The City does not comment on personnel related matters.”
Thu, Mar 10, 2022 1:17 pm Response from Commissioner Shoaf was quite lengthy, and I included sections that answered questions I had asked of them.
“This is not an easy topic as organizational change never is. The commissioners discussed office matters as a work session item and one thing was very clear; the structure of our office did not meet the needs of commissioners and changes would need to be made. Given the parameters of Sunshine, the City Administration has assisted with this process as it is difficult and unfair to employees to publicly discuss and per the charter, even commission office employees are staff of the administration” So a commission vote was not needed to terminate Ms. Brooks.
“As such, administration has provided further support to the commission staff to bridge the gap for capacity during this time so that the office workload does not fall all to remaining staff.”
Amazing administration has replaced Ms. Brooks so soon. Received no response from Fox, Lambert or Warren.
City Commission Office
Ms. Brooks, Executive Administrative Assistant and and one Administrative Assistant are the only two employees working for the five City Commissioners.
6/7/2021 Mayor/City Commission Work Session.
#2 on the agenda, Commission Staff discussed. I will give reader’s the hi-lights but encourage readers to listen to the televised meeting starting time 26:49 to hear Commissioners remarks. Also included below are the Minutes from the meeting.
Minutes from the Mayor/Commission meeting held 6/7/2021
Commission Office Operations & Staffing: Commissioner Joseph Peduzzi.
“Commissioner Peduzzi asked his colleagues what they would like to see, from staff, to help with their functions as Commissioners, in order to help support their constituents and to make them a more effective Commissioner.
Commissioner Peduzzi said that we should have a follow up meeting that is less formal, but there will be notice, so that the meeting can be attended by the public and we can work on what can be done so they can do constituent services. He stated that if we want to do more constituent services, we will have to look at current staff and see if we need to add additional staff.” Needs more help
“Commissioner Fox said the calls she receives are from constituents who do not know who to call and feel that the two staff members are not enough. She wants additional support to work on constituent questions or issues and who to direct them to.” Needs more help
“Commissioner Warren said that they all have different management styles and different needs, so we need to respond differently to the constituents in their districts.She said that it would be beneficial for each Commissioner to have their own staff person.” Needs more help
“Commissioner Shoaf said we need to determine what functions we can have staff in our office take up, by looking at job descriptions and seeing what can be done. She commented on the Smartsheet system put in place by the City Administrator and how to have staff fit into the process. She stated that staff should have more training on how to control the calendar and how to handle constituents.”
“Commissioner Lambert said that she wants to see the job descriptions to see if constituent services are included.” Of course it’s not included in the job description, Ms. Johnson just put it in place.
Fox and Warren said they need more staff and Peduzzi is in agreement. Lets see with another email to PBC Commissioners.
From: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2022 12:22 PM
To: Melissa McKinlay <[email protected]>
Subject: looking for info
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2022 12:22 PM
To: Melissa McKinlay <[email protected]>
Subject: looking for info
I am told each County Commissioner has 2 assistance’s to lighten the work load for Commissioners. Is the information correct, what titles do they hold?
Fri, Feb 25, 2022 1:54 pm Received a response from the County in 1 hr & 32 min.
Each Palm Beach County Commissioner has two aides and a secretary. The title of the aide varies depending on years of service. With the exception of Commissioner Kerner, the commissioners have two offices (one at the Governmental Center, and a second in their district).
Have a great weekend.
Kelley A. Burke
Chief of Staff to
Commissioner Melissa McKinlay
Kelley A. Burke
Chief of Staff to
Commissioner Melissa McKinlay
Now let’s get serious. Johnson came to us from the County where she served as Assistant City Administrator, and knew their system, and have the system that Johnson brought to WPB. Knowing how many staff members the County had did she really expect 2 WPB people assigned to the Commission office to put out the amount of work the County did? Commissioners see what happens when you can’t be bothered to do your homework and listen to Administration? A good woman lost her job.
Commissioners I offer a solution:
Demand Ms. Brooks, a woman with 38 years of knowledge and valuable service be returned to her former position, and demand Johnson and James find the money to hire 3 more employees so each Commissioner has a “staff member” and answers to resident can be made in 1 hr & 32 min. 1 on 1 = win win.
Feb.was Black History Month. As a gift, Ms. Brooks, who looks like James and Johnson, was terminated from her job she held for 38 Years.
One more black eye for WPB.
The end