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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis City-County Council members decided Monday evening to table a confirmation vote for Mayor Joe Hogsett’s choice for deputy mayor of public health and safety after concerns arose about her treatment of employees.
Following the meeting, the Mayor’s Office said Hogsett would make a new appointment for the position.
Lena Hill, a former consultant for The Indianapolis Foundation, was appointed deputy mayor by Hogsett in August, but the full City-County Council has yet to confirm the appointment, which is typically standard procedure.
Hill has since been accused of creating a negative workplace culture and harassing a longtime employee. Still, councilors on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 9-1 in March to approve her recommendation after an initial delay, sending the decision to the full council.
But the full 25-member council pumped the brakes on the confirmation process Monday and decided to indefinitely table the proposal. It took the proposal by consent, meaning individual councilors did not vote.
Councilor Leroy Robinson, a Democrat, who chairs the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, motioned Monday to table Hill’s recommendation indefinitely. Following the meeting, Robinson told reporters that the council needs “a little bit more information.” He said Hill has been meeting with councilors over the last several weeks.
“She’s still in the process of meeting folks, and we’ll see where it goes,” Robinson said. When asked if the proposal might be considered next month, Robinson said “I can’t tell the future.”
The Mayor’s Office said Hogsett intends to find another candidate, but did not offer a timetable for the change.
“Following the City-County Council’s decision on Monday evening to table Lena Hill’s confirmation as the Deputy Mayor of Public Health and Safety, she will continue to serve in that capacity until a new appointment is made,” the city said in a written statement.
Hill did not speak at Monday’s meeting, but did attend. As did Carlette Duffy, who at the March 13 meeting accused Hill of harassment, and former Office of Public Health and Safety Director Martine Romy Bernard-Tucker, who cited Hill’s treatment in her resignation letter.
Last month, Hill called the criticism “a clear and strategic attempt to slander my reputation, beginning before I even accepted my offer for employment.”
Robinson said he and other councilors have talked with those who have levied accusations against Hill.
“We’ve heard from some of those folks, but again, when we hear from them saying these things occurred and from her that they didn’t occur, we’re in the middle,” Robinson said. “And HR won’t share that information with us. That’s not our job. We’re not in charge of HR administration.”
In a text, Duffy told IBJ that the council’s vote to table the proposal sends a message to public servants in the City-County Building that “we hear you and we see you. Your voice does matter.”
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