After reading the article in the Express-Times (read it here) on the recent decision to remove police secretary Sue Eberly, you could only feel bad for her.
According to the article, Eberly, the police secretary, employed for 27 years by the borough, was terminated and a replacement will be named at Monday's Council Meeting.
She was informed of the intention to replace her in January and this past Wednesday she was escorted from the building by the HR consultant Joseph Trella.
I obviously wasn't there, but from the article it seemed that there was little thanks for or respect given to Eberly. Solicitor Pierce noted the Chief wanted to go in a new direction and that a new broom sweeps. Being escorted out, while standard in many places, is essentially telling everyone you did not leave on your own terms and can't be trusted as a result.
It will be interesting to hear at the meeting who the replacement is and also what the terms for the HR consultant are. I recall Trella being hired to conduct the Police Chief search, but didn't recall him being hired in this capacity.
13 comments:
It does appear that she was forced out and there was little in the way of appreciation for her many years of service. The one thing I did notice in the article that stood out to me was "The borough has advertised for the position and was looking for a candidate with computer skills, database management experience and an associate's degree." It makes you wonder if she was unable or unwilling to keep up with the latest technology.
"A new broom sweeps..." typical Pierce quote.
It's a difficult situation and you feel bad for all involved. On one hand you have someone who has put in years of sweat and dedication to a organization. On the other hand you have an organization that is looking at someone who's been passed-by by technology and, as a result, is not as efficient in today's work force. Loyalty vs. productivity.
In my opionion this is mainly the organization's fault. And I see this all day as I work closely with people who have been at my company for 30+ years and can barely operate a computer mouse; the "younger" people run circles around them. But it is the company's fault for not keeping employees trained and letting them get passed by.
I feel bad for Ms. Eberly and wish she could have retired on her own terms.
Wake Up, Nazareth.....times are changing! I am so sick of hearing the 'I've lived in Nazareth all my life and we don't do things like this' mentality. I have been a PA resident all my life and moved to Naz within the last 10 yrs. Alot of life-long Nazareth residents seem to be unable to accept change, ie-outside influences. I say...get over it! Sure change is sometime difficult, but in the case of the police department, these officers leaving and the termination and replacement of the secretary seem to be a GREAT idea. Fresh start, sounds good to me. Do you really think these changes are going to adversely affect the community? I don't.
To Aparent,
I agree with you that Nazareth needs to wake up!! I also am sick of hearing “I've lived in Nazareth all my life and we don't do things like this.”
Believe it or not there is a world outside the boundaries of Nazareth. To put blinders on and think that things will not happen in the small town of Nazareth is being irresponsible citizens. I know that change may not be easy, but it happens. Changes may not always be good, but it happens. As change happens, allow ALL citizens (now just those who were born here) to raise concerns and ideas of how to improve the town.
We moved here several years ago and I thought this was the town that would be perfect to raise my young family, however after only being here a few years I have been repeatedly told that “if you are not from Nazareth you will never be welcomed.” At first, I found it hard to believe and thought this could not be true. However, as years have passed, I have found out I was wrong; it is a very true statement.
Why did this thread turn into a banter on lifelong residents vs. newer residents? As a lifelong Nazareth resident, I don't see what the big deal is about.
I can attest that many longtime workers with office jobs at local municipalities simply refuse (or are unable) to learn how to use a computer and feel that their numerous years of service should somehow allow them remain employed. I can completely understand that the police force may have decided that hiring somebody with computer skills will save the actual department time and money. What was the police department to do, wait until the secretary retired on her own terms before upgrading their office procedures?
To aparent and concerned parent.
we who have lived here our whole lives just got used to stupid things like low taxes, kids not skateboarding through our parking lots, and i can go on and on...
i welcome anyone to this community.. but i also dont walk into your home, kick my feet up on your end table, and turn the channel in the middle of your show.. if you can catch my drift on that. we have gotten all the change now, and you see where we sit.. we are in a wonderful position right now with our tax dollar situation.. obviously this is not a problem for you and quite frankly its really not for me either, but Nazareth is a historical community and yes many people have lived here there whole lives, (and if they can afford to pay there school taxes,) will die here.. it makes me laugh that most people moved from the city to the town to get away from the city, but now want to turn the town into a city.
the whole point here is this.. Yes, it was time probably for the lady to move on.. technology has advanced.. whether it today, yesterday, 5 years from now or ten years, the point is treat people with respect. i think after 27 years she deserved that. maybe in your "citys" this is how things get handled, but there used to be a time around here when this matter would have gotten handled differently.
..and there used to be a time when people didn't come blasting into buildings shooting each other.
Oh Wait, yeah they did, since.. since.. since Henry made rifles in Nazareth! ..longer, for sure.
...and there used to be a time when kids didn't skateboard through Nazareth's parking lots.
Oh Wait, yeah I did — back when I used to wax ski's at Nazareth Sporting Goods!
...and there used to be a time when people didn't sabotage businesses or "go postal" when they got fired.
Oh Wait, yeah - that does happen, a lot more often than you think.
Sorry people. This isn't Mayberry. Walking ex-employee's out of the building does not, in any way, constitute disrespect.
At any rate. I do wish her the very best in her future endeavors.
Looks like two lines have developed - on topic and off.
For the off-topic element, wow - must be cabin fever/mid-winter blues coming out. Seems every so many months someone has to blurt out a diatribe condemning all locals and someone else has to do the same for everyone who has moved to the area (not necessarily in that order).
Can't see where one of these conversations has ever gone anywhere beyond that. There are people from both of those groups that grumble, but there are also many in both those groups who have engaged and given and who smile and are polite. These attributes have nothing to do with place of birth.
Regarding the secretary, without knowing anything more than the article in the paper, since she had been there 27 years it is a good guess they didn't hire her for her computer skills.
Given that, if the borough wanted her to have those skills, then they should have had a training plan for her to acquire them. If they did and she failed, then the move was the correct one. If they didn't, then I'd say they didn't do their job.
I also don't understand the sequence of the termination. They talked to her in January. Then they escort her out on a Wednesday, presumably during the day as she probably wouldn't have needed an escort at the end of the day.
So my question is did they give her a date when her employment would end or did they simply have a conversation that they were going in a different direction and never said anything else to her?
It sounds like the latter. Then one day, at random for her, a consultant comes by says you're done, right now, get your things, I'll take you out.
If this was due to performance, I would anticipate the comment from the borough would have been no comment it is a matter of personnel. Instead we got a new broom sweeps.
So we have a long-time employee, who doesn't appear to have been removed for performance, and who doesn't seem to have been provided training to update her skills with advances in technology.
What does she get - terminated.
I don't know who talked to her beyond the Consultant, but it would seem her boss ought to have been involved and so too should the mayor or someone at council.
It also strikes me that when a person finishes service on Council, heaps of praise follow by their fellow Council members (rightly so, it is a big contribution for nominal pay), but when a 27 year employee is terminated they can't even be a bit decent in the manner in which it is conducted.
Call it the small town, Mayberry-esque desire of mine, but I believe you can do these things in a decent and respectful manner as well as a cold and callous one.
I guess my only point early on was that this could have been handled better based on the report in the paper.
If she was willing to and capable of learning the new skills needed she should not be forced to retire.
This is a classic case of age discrimination and she could win a very big lawsuit.
Just one little question for all:Would you like to be walked from your office having been told that you are retiring? In my ever so humble opinion, it matters not whether the lady was willing and capable of learning computers or other technoloyg, she deserved better treatment then what she received. Shame on the police force, the mayor and the head of town council for not having the mental ability to resolve this matter in a better manner and certainly with much, much less fanfare
No one would want to be escorted out, we might be jumping to conclusions, and dont know the facts, hopefully we will. I would imagine that any prudent police chief would have someone escorted on their last day since it is a sensitive position, you cant just say, well today is your last day, just try and remember to lock the door behind you. His butt( and the publics private information, etc..) is on the line. I hope that if she was a good employee someone there will atleast send her a card or thank you.
Tatamite
According to my wife this procedure is common in a lot of places today. The Narcissus generation replacing the Greatest Generation.
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