Paul Bass Photo
Sally Brown in her temporary new quarters in City Hall.
Rather than a disciplinary hearing, Deputy City Clerk Sally Brown has been handed a new assignment.
Mayor Toni Harp has temporarily reassigned Brown from the clerk’s office to help pick up the slack in the Chief Administrative Officer’s (CAO) suite on the third floor of City Hall.
The deputy chief administrative officer, Jennifer Pugh, is out on long-term leave. And work has piled up. Harp said Friday that she has exercised her statutory authority to transfer Brown to cover some of the work Pugh does. Brown said Friday she is also taking on special projects that have piled up. CAO Mike Carter said the projects include a “vulnerability analysis, looking at department strengths and areas to improve; documentation of department achievements; [and] a ‘Clean City’ strategy.”
Harp has also assigned Maggie Targrove to assume some of Pugh’s duties in addition to Targrove’s existing duties as deputy director of emergency management.
Brown will continue earning her $93,897 annual salary in the temporary assignment, which does not have a set expiration date, according to city human resources chief Steve Librandi. Targrove is eligible under her union contract to receive an extra $3 an hour on top of her $79,851 salary for performing work usually done by someone at a higher pay grade.
Brown’s regular supervisor, City Clerk Michael Smart, had suspended her in May 2016 for allegedly certifying absentee ballots and nominating petitions that he said she had no authority to do. She disagreed. The State Elections Enforcement Commission ruled this February in Brown’s favor, and she returned to work. Smart said at the time he still planned to proceed with a disciplinary hearing.
On Friday Smart said he “didn’t have an issue” when the request came to transfer Brown temporarily to help out in the CAO’s suite. He said no disciplinary hearing is scheduled. “At this point, we’re moving forward,” he said.
“As long as I’m busy, I’m happy. I’m busy now,” Brown, who has worked for the city since 1980, said Friday in her office overlooking the Green. “I’m a worker.”
Good for her. I'm glad she is working away from the drama of her previous office. It was hard to imagine her having to go back to work with Smart after such a punitive period. No one should have to work in that type of environment.