Elizabeth Blackstone Mayor pro Tem.

As the mayor has pointed out, elected Killeen city office is a volunteer proposition.  You have to be willing to put up with long and sometimes pointless meetings; arrange your schedule around an impossible Tuesday-at-5 meeting time (setting aside peripheral events); put up with random criticism; and do it all for love, because there is no other compensation.

So I'm pleased that council member Blackstone has stepped up to take on the additional duties of Mayor pro Tem.  She will present a fair face for the city in the absence of Mayor Corbin; she certainly has the wit and presence to represent us well. I hope she also uses this as an occasion to extend her voice in the council, where she as yet has had only a small impact on debate.

Gonzales firing confirmed

KDH is reporting that City Manager Morrison today confirmed his firing of former Finance Directory Barbara Gonzales, and that in doing so he rejected the recommendation of the Civilian Personnel Hearing board.

The immediate effect will be to give Ms Gonzales ammunition to use in her wrongful termination suit.

The mayor asked last week whether the review process makes sense and whether it provides any benefits to the city or to employees.  It's pretty clear the answers are "no".  If the city manager initiates and approves an action and then is free to ignore review of that action, then clearly there's no benefit to the employee.  If the result makes it more difficult for the city to defend itself in a whistle-blower cause, it doesn't seem to benefit the corporation, either.