StartUp
DPW's new dance
When the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council is upset with Mayor Kip Holden, it's often been Holden's chief administrator, John Carpenter, in the line of fire. But from now on, the Metro Council won't have Carpenter to kick around anymore.
Carpenter has resigned from Holden's administration, to be replaced by Public Works Director William Daniel.
“The relationship has been somewhat contentious, but I've always had a fairly good relationship with the council,” Daniel says. “I think the key to that is communication.”
As for Daniel's replacement at DPW, Daniel has recommended that Holden promote someone from within, an approach that would avoid shaking things up too much while the department is in the midst of various projects, including sewer and road upgrades and the creation of a reorganization plan for the department itself.
However, the next director may hold the position on an interim basis, Daniel suggests. He says the position may be re-examined once the department has a new organizational chart in a few months.
The ultimate goal of reorganization is a department that is more efficient and provides better service, Daniel says. Project contractors would like change orders to be approved more quickly, for example.
“We're a paper-and-pencil organization, and we want to be an electronic organization,” he says. “That's the only way we're going to be more efficient.”
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