CRESTVIEW — The City Council says communication between council members and city departments needs improvement.
The council on Monday unanimously voted to enforce a city charter provision requiring mayoral review of resigning employees' status before they can claim reimbursement for unused vacation time.
Discussion on internal communication concerns began after City Councilman Tom Gordon said he learned about a senior city official's resignation when his wife read about it online.
"Why am I at the mercy of the media to be made aware of a situation of this nature?" Gordon said.
Upon resignation, the unnamed official was compensated $6,000 for 160 hours of unused vacation. An investigation would've shown the official was not in good standing when he left and should not have been compensated, Gordon said.
"Why are we not in the loop?" he asked.
Council President Robyn Helt passed the gavel to Vice President Mickey Rytman and offered a second to Gordon's motion to enforce the provision.
"It warrants us discussing it," Helt said. "I didn't bring it up because I don't want to keep harping on the same drum, but there's been a consistent issue with the council finding out about city matters on Facebook. There's a problem with that."
Helt said the council might be forced to legislate a requirement to be kept informed of city matters and developments.
"I've been tactful and I've tried to tiptoe around the issue but it's not being done," Helt said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Council demands better communication from departments