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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The head of the District’s citywide emergency and public service call center is an inexperienced leader whose behavior toward staff and on-the-job performance have angered employees and failed to win the confidence of the D.C. Council, a legislative panel contends.
The council’s public safety committee, chaired by Councilman Phil Mendelson, slammed Office of Unified Communications Director Janice Quintana for being “antagonistic toward employees,” for “retaliating against employees,” and for a “lack of understanding that the OUC serves as an important public safety function.”
“The Committee was concerned about Director Janice Quintana because of her lack of direct experience with public safety,” the committee’s budget report states. “Director Quintana’s performance over the past year has done little to give the Committee confidence in her ability to effectively lead and manage the OUC.”
Quintana, appointed by Mayor Adrian Fenty in January 2007, leads a staff of about 400 with a $53.2 million annual budget. She is the former director of the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center.
Mendelson and Quintana have gone head-to-head during council meetings, but the committee’s language is unusually harsh.
The budget document also denounces the new 911/311 system touted by Fenty and managed by Quintana. The policy, implemented earlier this year, asks citizens to call 911 for emergency or nonemergency public safety needs and to dial 311, the former nonemergency public safety number, for everything else.
“For decades this government has drilled into the public mind that emergency calls go to 911, non-emergencies to go 311,” the report states. “The dedication of 911 for emergencies is a lesson taught across the country. The proposed change goes against this training and will detract from public safety.”
The critical budget language was adopted Thursday in its entirety by the five member public safety committee. It does not call for Quintana to step down.
“Director Quintana is as fine a communications director that the District of Columbia has ever had, as fine as you’ll find anywhere in this country,” Fenty said Friday. “The mayor of the District of Columbia and the citizens of this city are lucky to have her.”
Quintana declined to comment.
mneibauer@dcexaminer.com
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6:42 AM MST on Mon., Jul. 7, 2008 re: "Councilman stalls streetcar plans in Anacostia"
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will streetcars help or harm? said:
Don't we need to know about the streets the streetcars will be in? Streetcars work in places like Portland, OR, when they have a dedicated area in the middle of a street so that they don't block traffic. But if they have to use the street, they will likely increase congestion, not reduce it. This should be the start of the questioning -- not just ridership, but what happens to traffic speeds. If Graham discovers that there are issues with this streetcar, he should look at the other streetcar plans as well.
4 agree | 4 disagree
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What said:
Where is Carol doing her job from Rohoboth? She is not only losing Republican support, she is also losing all support.
6 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Oh, well. Nobody will come to DC anymore. Especially since Graham parks his own car for free. "Do as I say, not as I do."
8 agree | 7 disagree
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Homnoir: said:
Oh well, The Cary Silveman campaign may be seeing it's due demise. Silverman & all 10 of his constituents -Ray(We're-Here-We're....) Milefsky, Martin Moulton, Richard (Act-Up) Rogers, Si (I-demand-Shotspotter-now)Kailian, Alex (Bring-me-a-memo) Padro, Kevin (Uncle-Ruckus)Chappelle, Brian (I-demand-an-answer-this-minute-Councilman) Smith and their partners & significant others can take the message that the Shaw/Mt. Vernon/Convention Center/Chinatown community do not find their message(s) are the most viable for the aformentioned communities, as a whole. It's call inclusiveness not colonization by way of gay economic elitism.
6 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
In any large business, there are incompetent workers. However, there are still many competent workers in D.C. government & a "brain drain" is possible! Most of the problems & perception of bad service are due to ill-prepared managers; managers that should never have been placed in such positions & certainly not allowed to continue as managers. D.C., unfortunately, has an ineffective, inefficient, inadequate method of selecting, training, maintaining & validating its office/program managers. In most instances, required supervisory (MSS)training is a joke and focuses mostly on fluff. A crew is only as good as its captain. If the captain is ethically challenged, unable or unwilling to perform, unfair, and/or a bully to subordinates-the public should expect poor performance and/or service. Yet, even under such challenges, many D.C. workers try to do their work. Their cries for help are routinely ignored & they have become easy whipping posts for what ails DC. Request my name be anonymous.
11 agree | 9 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Could you do a follow-up to determine how, and when, employees will be notified as to whether they have been guaranteed to receive the incentive payment. Employees would like to put in their official papers if they knew they would definitely receive the incentive. For instance, does it matter when one actually leaves the rolls? How much notice will employees receive that they have been found eligible? The applicaiton to retire, open through Friday, March 7, 2008, is an intent to retire and allows an employee to withdraw their intent. As a matter of fact, could you see whether or not the city is going to have a special fund during FY 2009 to pay these incentives? If Gandhi is saying there is a fiscal problem looming, how does that fit in? Also, will employees receive a lump sum incentive payment or payouts throughout 2009? Will those identified for the incentive payment be based on actual quality of services provided based on the last evaluation? Request my name be anonymous.
8 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Councilwoman Carol Schwartz is in error. There would be no "brain drain" from the ranks of the D.C. Government because of the fact that the majority of the D.C. employees have little or no brains to begin with. Frankly, if they want to do the taxpayers a favor what they should do is fire what they have and recruit from the outside. Then their problems would be solved.
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What about the taxpayers? said:
Those of use who pay through the nose in property taxes should get a little relief. How about a partial refund?
112 agree | 109 disagree
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