Changes on the way at St. Petersburg City Hall after the resignations of Communications Director Janelle Taylor and Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens.
Taylor quit recently after alleging bullying and a hostile work environment, which she blamed on Owens, her immediate supervisor.
Mayor Ken Welch says he's "disappointed," but admits Taylor's allegations caught him off guard. "One question I asked Ms. Taylor is why she did not mention this to me during the eight months of her employment," Welch told reporters this morning. "as I was in contact with her as (communications) director many times per week, and often, one-on-one. There was also no complaint filed with HR."
Welch says he will not have a Deputy Mayor going forward, but will assign many of those duties to a Chief of Staff.
While Welch says he doesn't think there is a pervasive hostile environment at city hall, he says both views have to be respected. And he wants "hard data."
"So I'm taking steps to make sure we acquire feedback from our employees on the current workplace environment so that our employees feel empowered to report any inappropriate behavior in the workplace."
photo: Getty Images