RFP Staff
♦ Under oath in a deposition dated January 7th, 2016 former Salisbury Police Chief Rory Collins disclosed that Salisbury Human Resources, which includes Assistant City Manager Zack Kyle and Human Resources Manager Ruth Kennerly terminated four police officers, a decision belonging to the Police Chief. This is proof of a long-awaited rumor that Kyle and Kennerly micromanaged Salisbury Police Department personnel decisions.
On page 32 of the deposition Former Chief Collins revealed that “human resources mandates that all department heads let them know of any – and I do mean any – issue going on personnel related all the way down to somebody talking to somebody rudely.”
Collins also reveals that he reprimanded someone in writing without going through Kyle and Kennerly, and learned “real quick” that it should have gone through them.
On page 33 of the deposition Former Chief Collins revealed that Kyle and Kennerly terminated four officers: Rueben Ijames, Alfredo Bizzio, Wesley Lane, and Kenny Lane.
Collins stated in response to being asked if he terminated Kenny Lane, “no, sir. I wasn’t involved in that…they made the decision.” In response to a question about Wesley Lane, Former Chief Collins stated he didn’t agree with the decision… remarking, “It wasn’t my plan. I was told what I was going to do with that.”
Kyle and Kennerly’s micromanagement of these personnel decisions is an unprofessional human resources practice. Discipline should be conducted by the employee’s direct supervisor, who has first hand knowledge of the employee and the incident that requires disciplinary action. Kyle and Kennerly need to be neutral at this step because the employee handbook allows the employee to grieve the action to Human Resources if the employee disagrees with the discipline. Kyle and Kennerly are undermining the city’s own grievance process by micromanaging discipline at the department level. They cannot objectively review their own disciplinary actions.
Upon additional research, Rowan Free Press has learned that neither Kyle or Kennerly have a degree or prior experience in human resources. Kyle formerly served as a Planning Director in Virginia before coming to Salisbury, and Kennerly served as the city’s multiculturalism employee coordinating community events such as La Fiesta Rowan.
