Spinner announces Janet Kemp will be losing her job in the new year
Mayor Elect Denny Spinner has been visiting with city employees since being elected to the office in November. Last week he met with Janet Kemp who currently fills the position of mayor’s assistant and office manager for Huntingburg. She ran against him on the Democrat ticket in this year’s election. During the meeting she requested that he notify her of his intentions as soon as he knew whether he would be keeping her on as staff.
Yesterday Spinner notified Kemp that he would be replacing her when he took office.
Here is his statement regarding his decision.
“I advised Janet Kemp on Monday that it was not my intention to reappoint her as Office Manager for the City of Huntingburg. The Office Manager serves as the administrative assistant to the Mayor and oversees the implementation of the Mayor’s policies. The person in this position must have the confidence of the Mayor as they deal with information that has city wide impact, and it was my decision that I would appoint an administrative assistant of my choosing.
I met with Janet last week to discuss her position, and during that meeting she requested to be informed of her status as soon as I
reached a decision. Over the weekend I came to a decision and per her request, informed her as such.
I thanked Janet for her dedicated service to the city and am confident that with the experience she has gained working for the city that she will be able to explore new opportunities in the private sector that will be challenging and rewarding for her.
I am continuing to meet with those city employees who are appointed by the Mayor and will be announcing further appointments later this month.”
Janet Kemp was told that at noon on Sunday, January 1st she would no longer have a position with the city of Huntingburg, Spinner is sworn in at 1 p.m.
Janet Kemp said, “It’s devastating to be leaving the city of Huntingburg after ten years of dedicated service. I’ve never been in trouble; never been written up, and I have always been dedicated to my position. I don’t understand why he’s not giving me a chance.”
“I don’t know, maybe this is my opportunity to go back to school to become a nurse.” Kemp continued. “I have people looking for positions for me but for now I am putting my resume out there.
Due to the timing of her termination Kemp will lose her vacation days for 2012, but she is trying to work with Spinner to hopefully earn those days to allow a bigger cushion from the loss of her position.
When Kemp made the announcement on Facebook many of her supporters came forward to hopefully find this single mom of three teen daughters a job.
If anyone understands Kemp's feelings of frustration, it would be me. However, I was given NO notice after being informed that I would NOT lose MY career after 17 years…and I was a single mother also. This was a result of the Belcher Administration. I was not afforded any dignity nor truth. Mayor-Elect Spinner had a very, very, very difficult decision to make and will afford Kemp due respect for her contributions to the City. We all wish her the best and thank her for her knowledge and skills.
Curious as to why one would get vacation pay for a year in which they have not worked. Does that
mean if someone is fired or resigns they still get vacation pay for the coming year?
I understand where you're coming from on this and particularly with this situation, but actually, yes, some benefit plans do allow for separated (fired, resigned, etc) employees to collect unused vacation time in the form of a pay-out, in advance of the year, or 12-month period, in which they would normally have been required to use it. For instance, if a qualifying or covered employee is terminated or resigns effective a day after they accrued vacation time for the next 12 months – usually on their annual anniversary date of hire – they may receive this time, or any unused portion of, in pay on their final check. Again, benefit plans vary by employer and not all work this way, but this example or similar is more common in the public sector.
Thank you for the explanation.
As a business owner I have learned over the past few yrs that progress requires change. That is a fact. The sooner we embrace the change the sooner we can come together as a community and share the treasure that Huntingburg truly is. I PRAY in the new year we can drop our personal agendas and opinions and do what is right as proud citizens of Huntingburg. Let's quit making blame and complacency our battle cry. The good is to often the enemy of the best.
Well put. Change such as this happens all the time, but particularly when elected officials and administrations take over, reflecting different goals and/or avenues and philosophies to achieve those goals are concerned.
Lest people forget, my nephew tells me there were similar (and more) changes at the transition to mayor Belcher's administration and for a year or so afterward. One such was a dept head terminated by then-mayor-elect Belcher prior to the new mayor takng office, and another – in the same Office Manager/Executive Asst position – was let go just days into the new mayor's term, which Kemp filled.
New presidents bring in their own cabinet in large part, corporate CEO's and other businesses have need for it, and so with elected officials at certain levels and positions. It's change, if not always pleasant and sometimes difficult to understand at the time, and we move forward. I might add – we usually feel much better about it later and/or are a better person for having gone through it. And yes, it has happened to me and to many.
What I wanted to see from this was teamwork. Yes changes happen all the time but one thing im not hearing , jobs are different then 10 years ago. Yes dubois county has a low unemployment rate, but it was easier to find stable work 10 years ago. Im sure she will do well, and we dont base our companies/businesses on if a person needs work but it certainly shows your community your there for them.