Brentwood needs a new clerk

1. If you took a couple moments to read the job posting (for Deputy Clerk) on the city’s website, you’d see this article has nothing to do with Bola Akande, the City Clerk and City Administrator for the city of Brentwood. The author of the article should make this clear in his headline and throughout. I’ve read some of the posts here, and it seems plainly obvious the posters weren’t aware.

2. I feel compelled to add my voice and perspective to this “discussion”. 1. Bola Akande is one of the most professional and ethical leaders I have ever known. 2. Every former employee listed here had their own combination of reasons for moving on. I can’t and won’t speak for any other person on this list but I can clearly state that I did not leave the City of Brentwood because of Bola Akande. 3. Serving as a City Administrator is a difficult position in the best of circumstances 4. Serving as an Elected Official is also a challenging and often thankless position. 5. Serving as a City employee can also be challenging – but each person on this list also has/had their own personal combination of reasons for choosing their career path.

   I am personally grateful that we have ethical and professional-minded leaders and staffers who are willing to step up and do the hard work of City governance day in and day out. Not only do their actions impact the City of Brentwood, but they benefit the region as a whole. So to Ms. Akande and the Elected Officials and staff who (during my tenure) made sound, rational decisions in the midst of enormous public pressure, I say thank you. I am grateful for the lessons I learned while serving as your employee and colleague. Brentwood is a wonderful community and I wish you all the best.

3. I’m glad Tracey commented and wish other former employees would, too. Their perspective is critical to our understanding of what’s really happening here. And Mr. Slusser’s comment reminds us that there are always 2 sides to every story. He feels Bola is not the problem. But here’s what I know: City employees I know are stressed and demoralized and 5 past or present employees have fingered Bola as being “a” problem or “the” problem. The City can’t seem to retain workers anymore. For much of Brentwood’s history it was common for loyal employees to work here for many years, sometimes for an entire career. But in the 6 years since Bola arrived, employee turnover has swelled to epic levels. Sure, some needed to go, but others didn’t. Surely it can’t be dissatisfaction with pay, as Brentwood pays some of the highest municipal salaries in the St. Louis region. Clearly there’s a problem here that needs to be identified and addressed. I can’t believe Dusty has already baled.

   • As a former Board Member I too will say Bola is an extremely valuable asset. I too spoke with many employees that were leaving and the reason typically was because of the chaos at the Board of Alderman level and certain Aldermen labeling the employees as crooks.

4. I left the City of Brentwood after working for the Parks and Recreation Department for over 5 years. While I have not kept up with a lot of Brentwood news after quitting just over 3 years ago, I can say that Bola is not the reason why I left but the P&R department head that she hired was.
   I will also mention that after certain city employees were under scrutiny years ago, a lot of Brentwood residents enjoyed calling every city employee corrupt. In general, the city was a place I did not enjoy working for. Since quitting back in 2014, I can count on 1 hand the amount of times I have been back to that city. I avoid shopping or doing any business there at ALL cost.

   • As one of those listed below, I can say she wasn’t the reason I left too. Bola was a good boss, someone I respect. Her hands though are often tied by the Board, I saw this first hand a few times.

     From the start to the end of my brief time with Brentwood I was treated on several occasions by residents and an elected officials as being a thief. The day I directly heard the elected official say that all employees of BW are thieves, is the day I decided I could not stay. Employee moral was and probably is still at an all time low. It’s due to the way the City treats the staff that works for it. There has been a large turn over since the day of Chris S, yet the employees, new and old, still feel the disdain from the community. Give them a break, they are good people trying to do their job. It’s not a glorious job they do but they still chose to do it. Support the City staff instead of criminalizing them.

5. I served on the board recently (not very long I know, too long for others) and I can, with first hand accounts, tell you that you guys are completely off base. It’s easy to make up stories when you have no actual facts to back it up.

   Several of those people left while I served, I spoke with them about their leaving and I can tell you in every situation Bola was not the cause. To claim it was her is reckless and inflammatory.

   I work with cities all around St. Louis and I can tell you Bola is top notch. I know the women and I am thankful we have her here in Brentwood.

6. Thank you for providing this information to the residents of Brentwood. Bola is a virus to the community and the City’s employees. She never responds to media requests as she is always “in a meeting.” As was stated, this is just a partial list of people she has fired or people who left of their own volition rather than work under her authoritarian rule. If ANYONE believes she has the best interests of anyone but herself in mind then they truly don’t know the woman very well…

7. The “brain drain” Mr. Smith has so ably chronicled should alarm all of us. And if you speak to Brentwood’s demoralized employees, you will learn that the exodus of city workers is not simply occurring on Abimbola’s watch — it’s occurring specifically because of her. Initially, some ill-informed observers thought that Ald. Saunders was to blame because she had created a stressful workplace for the workers, but this never made any sense even then, and it certainly doesn’t today. Long after Ald. Saunders left the scene, the resignations and terminations continue apace. The only thing each of our former employees has in common is that they reported to the authoritarian Nigerian Strongwoman at City Hall.

   Laissez-faire Mayor Chris Thornton likes to give Abimbola free reign to rule the city, and if he’s reelected to another term, we can expect the employee hemorrhage to continue and perhaps even accelerate. Something for each of us to ponder on Election Day next week.

8. This is a partial list of Brentwood employees who have left since Ms. Akande was hired in 2011:

   Asst. City Administrator:
   Ellen Rottjakob

   City Clerk:
   Octavia Pittman
   Dusty Hosna

   Human Resources:
   Julie McMillian
   Alexis Perdomo

   Finance Director:
   Karen Mosby
   Gina Jarvis

   Police Chief:
   Steve Disbennett

   Fire Chief:
   Ted Jury

   Parks Superintendent:
   George Kroenung

   Director of Parks & Recreation:
   Michele Frankowski

   IT Manager:
   Bud Schilling
   Robin Zlatic

   Director of Street Department:
   Jim Nahmensen

   Director of Planning & Development:
   Justin Wyse

   Planning & Development Clerk:
   Ashley Quinn

   Building Official:
   Kevin Cousins

   Building Inspector:
   Larry Porter

   Project Manager:
   Ben Von Harz

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