https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Subscribe to GovPro
    • Manage GovPro Subscription
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
acc.com

Public Works & Utilities


Old Mobile, Ala. City Hall. Image via Altairisfar | Wikimedia Commons.

Article

Mobile City Council considering public works investigation following months of complaints

Mobile City Council considering public works investigation following months of complaints

  • Written by Jason Axelrod
  • 31st October 2018

After months of complaints regarding mistreatment of employees, the Mobile, Ala., City Council is exploring the authorization of an investigation into the city’s public works department.

The complaints include harassment and racially motivated mistreatment from supervisors, according to Lagniappe Weekly. Complaints even culminated in over 30 trash pickup employees calling in sick or leaving work on Oct. 9, with most appearing before the council, AL.com reports.

“We have worked in 100-degree temperatures and rain to keep your city clean,” The Rev. Sanders Mason, who represented affected public works employees, said at the Oct. 9 council meeting, per Call News. “We are working in a hostile environment, where the department is managed unprofessionally, where the supervisor in charge of the workplace is a bully, and is trying to be intimidating.”

The complained-about mistreatment isn’t new, either.

“I was a victim,” retired trash employee Michael Brown told councilors, according to the Weekly. “I felt the same way these other employees have felt. Individuals were picked on by the same leadership that’s there now.”

The employees’ actions on Oct. 9 led council members to propose an investigation into the department, AL.com reports. However, on Oct. 24, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said that, following pre-disciplinary hearings with 26 employees, 10 were terminated.

Local public works advocacy group President Wesley Young defended the employees’ actions on Oct. 30, the Weekly reports. “The employees were crying for help,” he said. “Those employees did not violate any rules.”

Following the Oct. 30 council meeting, the council will delay voting on an investigation launch for a week, according to the Weekly. Councilman John Williams said that “this is about as fast as this could have happened,” according to AL.com.

“I would hope we would have seven votes on this next week,” Councilman Levon Manzie said, per AL.com. “The seven of us have been hearing from the workers in this department for months now, probably a year at this point.”

Tags: News Public Works & Utilities News Public Works & Utilities Article

Related


  • Local governments in Texas respond to cold snap, power grid failure
    As many Texans remain without power due to an ongoing cold snap in the state, local governments are taking varied measures to try to help their communities where they can. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which controls most of Texas’s power, said on Friday that it has returned to normal operating conditions, CNBC […]
  • Pennsylvania county will light up its buildings with hydro-electric power
    A planned hydropower plant will supply electricity for county-run operations in Allegheny County, Pa., according to an announcement by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Boston-based Rye Development LLC will finance and build the 17.8-megawatt plant along the Ohio River at the Emsworth Main Channel Dam, near Pittsburgh. Under the terms of a 35-year power purchase agreement […]
  • Hi-tech sewers can help safeguard public health, environment and economies
    In the wake of the coronavirus, economic recovery is top of mind for all city leaders, the majority of whom believe that investing in infrastructure and technology can spur a rebound. Yet current analyses indicate that we only have funding available to cover approximately 57 percent of infrastructure system improvements through 2029, leaving an investment gap […]
  • Cooperative agreements and other tools can help lean-staffed procurement squads
    In 2021, county budgets are fairly tight, says John D. Tigert, purchasing services manager in Dorchester County, S.C.“Procurement budgets are largely staying the same, with outliers of course, depending on how the organization collects revenue and to what degree that revenue collection was impacted by COVID-19. Most procurement departments tend to run a very lean […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Chicago becomes first city to use free COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tool for cities and states
  • UPDATED: Mask mandates, water upgrades, new transit part of Tampa’s plan for hosting pandemic-era Super Bowl
  • Amazon Web Services unveils program to help government technology startups
  • Tennessee purchasing crew fine-tunes its pandemic response

White papers


Discover How Public Sector Officials are Monitoring and Managing Overtime in This New White Paper

22nd February 2021

How to Assemble a Successful Government Grant Proposal

5th February 2021

The Rise of Procurement’s Next Normal

5th February 2021
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

American City & County’s 2020 Exemplary Public Servant of the Year Award dlvr.it/RtZbX2

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

American City & County’s 2020 Crown Communities Awards dlvr.it/RtZbVz

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

2020 Crown Communities Awards winner: Rock Hill, S.C.’s My Ride dlvr.it/RtZSFp

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Three communities hosting Augmented Reality Developer Challenge competitions dlvr.it/RtZ94D

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Using data to improve emergency response resources dlvr.it/RtVSc0

25th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

How small cities are tackling lead service line replacement dlvr.it/RtV9G8

25th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

COVID-19 and pivoting into a new year: It may be 2021, but did we really leave 2020? dlvr.it/RtQRcr

24th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Six tips for making sure your dispatch is doing all the right moves dlvr.it/RtQBvl

24th February 2021

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X