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Thursday, March 25, 2010

New public works boss steps into 'whirlwind'

Topic requested...Please click onto the COMMENTS for the story.

posted by Bob at Thursday, March 25, 2010

7 Comments:

Anonymous Pioneer Press said...

New duties, new faces ... and an old marijuana citation
By Dave Orrick
dorrick@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 03/24/2010 11:39:36 PM CDT


Rich Lallier has worked for the city of St. Paul for 32 years. (Courtesy to Pioneer Press)The past several days have been, in his words, "a whirlwind" for Rich Lallier.

Charged by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman with taking over the city's embattled Public Works Department after TV cameras caught pothole patchers loafing on the clock, Lallier has spent the past few days meeting new faces, giving speeches to his workers and even answering a reporter's questions about a prior drug citation.

While on vacation two years ago in north-central Minnesota's Cass County, Lallier was cited for possessing a small amount of marijuana, a petty misdemeanor. Lallier paid a fine, but he hadn't told the city about the citation until Wednesday, when a Pioneer Press reporter confronted him. Coleman's office said he'll stay on the job, citing Lallier's "stellar management record" for the city.

The whirlwind started Friday afternoon. The 51-year-old's 32-year career in the city's Department of Parks and Recreation was about to change.

Days before KSTP-TV was to air a report showing city pothole crews wasting time instead of working, the mayor's office called Lallier (pronounced "lolly-er"). Bruce Beese, director of Public Works, would be resigning; the entire department, if not every city employee, was about to come under scrutiny; and Coleman wanted Lallier to take over for four to five months.

"He said I'm to 'change the culture of Public Works,' " Lallier said.

Lallier, who was operations manager for Parks and Rec, didn't hesitate.

"My wife said, 'Couldn't



you have at least told him you'd think about it?' " he chuckled. "But the mayor's the CEO of a $500 million corporation. When he says, 'This is what I need you to do,' I do it. I said, 'I will do whatever you need with the best interests of the city in mind.' "
Coleman, who City Hall employees said was truly angered by revelations of city workers loafing on the job, took a hands-on role in the aftermath, and his choice of Lallier to replace the bookish Beese is striking.

Beese is a certified public accountant whose previous job, which he has since returned to, was administrative manager for Public Works, which included overseeing the budget.

Lallier, 6-foot-6 and "more than 300" pounds, worked his way up through the ranks of city employees. In 1978, the East Side native worked as a recreation leader and seasonal lifeguard, and was promoted to rec center director in 1980, according to his public personnel file.

In 1984, he became a grounds worker and joined the Laborers International Union of North America's Local 132, where he eventually became a union steward. It's the same union that many of the pothole workers belong to, and Lallier said he knows some of the workers; in other cases, he knows their fathers or uncles.

A steady string of promotions took him through supervisor roles until 1998, when he became operations manager.

The years of work have taken a toll, and Lallier lumbers with a limp "after I've been sitting at a desk too long." A father of three adult children, he lives in the suburbs and volunteers as an assistant basketball coach for Chisago Lakes High School in Lindstrom. He's quick to beam proud about some of the kids he's coached.

But there's little time for that now.

In the past few days, Lallier has started his workday not in Beese's now-Spartan downtown office, but at 6:30 a.m. at the Rice Street maintenance facility where Public Works crews begin their shifts. And he hasn't been looking at the department's budget, which, like all city spending, could face cuts.

9:35 AM  
Anonymous story continued said...

Lallier has been talking with the rank and file, in groups large and small. On Monday, it was the street workers. On Wednesday, the sewer workers.

Sure, he wants to remind them the bosses — as well as the TV cameras and the public — are watching, he said.

"But a lot of it is to build back their confidence that most of them do good work," Lallier said. "I know the vast majority of people who work for Public Works do a great job, and they're embarrassed by all this. You don't hear much about the guys putting in 12-hour shifts to get that levee built in case the river floods."

Sometime near the end of April, two private investigators and Human Resources Director Angie Nalezny will complete a $15,000 to $20,000 investigation into the pothole-patching controversy. They'll hand a report to Lallier, who will decide who to fire or discipline.

The fact that he knows so many in the ranks of the department "can be good and that can be bad," he said. "It can't hurt to have relationships, and I know it's not all adversarial between union and management.

"I don't view discipline as a way to punish. It's a way to change behavior," he said.

Lallier won't be disciplined for the pot possession citation, which was an offense he was not required to report, according to city employment policy.

"It was a mistake," he said. "I apologized to my family, and I'm embarrassed by it."

Lallier was cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia Sept. 14, 2008. Both are petty misdemeanors.

A Lake Shore, Minn., police officer was checking docks at 12:13 a.m. and saw two men "at the end of the docks lighting something several times," a police report said. The officer smelled marijuana and asked the men what they were smoking, the report said.

One of the men, later identified as Lallier, told the officer it was a "one-hitter and produced it from his front right pant pocket," the report said.

Lallier said the marijuana pipe was his friend's, the report said. The other man wasn't smoking at the time and was not cited.

On Oct. 1, 2008, Lallier paid a $100 fine without appearing in court.

There were $160 in fees, for a total of $260, according to a court register of actions.

Lallier said Wednesday that he didn't smoke pot regularly, hasn't smoked since and "never" smoked on the job or went to work high.

"I had pretty much forgotten about it," Lallier said.

Bob Hume, spokesman for Coleman, said the incident is personal. "He has dealt with it and shown remorse," Hume said.

Before last week, Lallier's salary was $101,000 a year; now, it's about $124,000, the salary Beese earned.

Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.

9:35 AM  
Blogger Bob said...

Rich Lallier was ticketed in northern MN for small amount of marijuana. If he had been pulled over by police in the metro area he probably wouldn't of gotten a ticket and most likely would of been able to keep his pot.

I can't help but think of housing code and issues with marijuana. Years ago a landlord of mine was told by the city to evict me because they seen a bong in my house. But, it is OK for a city employee to smoke up. I wonder if he lives in the city and if he has any paraphernalia in his home.

9:51 AM  
Blogger Bob said...

Hi All,

I emailed the mayors office and asked why Beese was given another job with the city for $111000 a year and the following was the response I received.

From: Chai Lee (Chai.Lee@ci.stpaul.mn.us)

Sent: Wed 3/24/10 10:32 AM
To: rbljohnson@live.com

Dear Bob, Thank you for contacting our office with your concerns on thedocumented misbehavior by street maintenance workers in Public Works. Iwas forwarded your e-mail message inquiry to Ann Mulholland. Let meassure you that I share your outrage at what was seen. When we were made aware of these behaviors, we acted swiftly to addressthe issues shown on the tapes, and to take action to hold thoseresponsible accountable for their actions. We will not tolerate anybehavior that fall short of the high standard of professionalism we holdourselves to as public servants. As a result, I have accepted the resignation of Public Works DirectorBruce Beese, effective immediately. To ensure the continued operationof the department I have asked Rich Lallier of the Division of Parks andRecreation to serve as the interim Director of Public Works. Rich is atalented manager and will lead the department through this time oftransition. In addition, I have asked Angie Nalezney of Human Resources to lead animmediate investigation into this incident. She has retained a firm toassist us in our review. We expect the results of their work to beavailable to us in the next several weeks and to inform our decisions ondiscipline and corrective action for those responsible. It is my sincere hope that this is the first step of many we will betaking to repair the damage this incident has done to the public trust. But more than that, this incident will serve as a reminder that workingin service to the residents of Saint Paul is a privilege, and it’s onethat I take very seriously. It now falls on us to go back into thecommunity and put in an additional effort to regain the trust of ourresidents by doing excellent work, day in and day out. You expectnothing less of us, and we owe nothing less to you. So as we move forward, please accept my assurance that we will addressthese issues seriously and quickly. We are also taking steps to put newleadership in place in the Public Works Department who will ensure thatan incident like this does not happen again, and that the departmentwill return to the standard of excellence we all expect from them. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any furtherconcerns on this situation, or if you need anything else from the Cityof Saint Paul.

Sincerely,

Chris Coleman Mayor

(http://www.stpaul.gov/)
Chai Lee Constituent Service Representative Office of Mayor Christopher B. Coleman
15 Kellogg Boulevard West, Suite 390; Saint Paul, MN 55102P: (651) 266-8510F: (651) 266-8521chai.lee@ci.stpaul.mn.us

9:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Political snow job with some lip service thrown in for good measure

11:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bill Dahn says

Now we all should call like I did and voice your opinion about this and other matters, let these pee on's that work for your best entrust know how you feel about this person getting a pat on the head and Not fired like they should have.
ALL Government Employees sign their employment papers that have "Code Of Ethics and Code Of Conduct" as if they lack either in their employment with a Government Job they will be "FIRED"!

Call and tell Chai Lee how you feel about any matter that might arise.

Chris Coleman Mayor

(http://www.stpaul.gov/)
Chai Lee Constituent Service Representative Office of Mayor Christopher B. Coleman
15 Kellogg Boulevard West, Suite 390; Saint Paul, MN 55102P: (651) 266-8510F: (651) 266-8521chai.lee@ci.stpaul.mn.us


BILL DAHN


PS THANK YOU CHRIS COLEMAN FOR BEING A BACK STABBING DEMOCRAT.

6:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is part of a sickness that has engulfed St. Paul - too much deadwood.

In the inspections department we had overly ambitious 'leaders' who didn't think things through clearly. They pointed the deadwood at the low-income segment, and will now have to pay the consequences.

What St. Paul needed was real leadership. Now it may be too late.

10:15 AM  

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