Grand Rapids City Comptroller Max Frantz says his staff went from 16 people to three last December when they were moved to a new accounting division reporting to the city manager and the chief financial officer.
Now one of those employees has been fired.
Frantz says there was no public notice that the change in departments would result in terminating employees.
“And I think what is difficult for me to see is a continuation of plans being made and carried out behind closed doors. I, and I think others, continue to be in a place of surprise in learning about things after the fact.”
Frantz also notes the difficulty in carrying out the legal duties of the comptroller’s office with such a small staff remaining in his department.
“And so right now some of the duties that are prescribed to me by law in our city charter are being performed by the city manager and CFO and the new team that they created.”
A city spokesperson offered WGVU a written response:
The employee referenced by the comptroller was not reporting to the comptroller at the time of termination, nor were there any predetermined decisions about any employee’s status when certain functions were assumed by the Fiscal Services Department in January.
The City does not generally comment on the details of personnel matters relating to any City employee and does not condone the release of such information.
