Tampa’s City Council unanimously moved Thursday to seek an outside lawyer to review the city’s grievance processes and reach out to former employees to offer better options for those with workplace complaints.
The vote came after two former employees in the city’s mobility unit told council members they faced retaliation after raising concerns about a toxic work environment. They are among other former employees from the department who have previously voiced similar complaints.
Council member Bill Carlson, who called for the discussion, said that most entities have a third party system for people to report complaints without fear of retribution having to be identified. Within the city, he said he’s heard employees across divisions who fear reporting a concerns to human resources overseen by the mayor and her chief of staff.
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The move comes after a series of recent departures in high profile city offices that some said is part of a pattern.
Stephanie Poynor, president of the Tampa Homeowners An Association of Neighborhoods, presented a list of 13 employees during public comment whom she said she knows who recently left the city, seven from the Mobility Department. She said it was a list of only those she was aware of.
“The bottom line is these are some big fish,” she said.
The two former employees of the department told council members about their experiences.
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