DPW cites preventable accidents, lost iPad and missed reporting as basis for 15-day suspension

Department witnesses told the commission they relied on three strands of evidence when imposing discipline: prior accident memos and crash reports, remedial-training evaluations and the circumstances of the May 12 incident. Makeisha Porter (HR administration manager) said the suspension covered the lost iPad, the canopy collision and the failure to contact Fleet dispatch to permit an on-scene investigation.

Fleet staff testified that an estimate for repairing the damaged fuel canopy was between $30,000 and $40,000. The city argued that the combination of repeated preventable accidents and the size of the most recent damage justified escalating beyond guideline steps in the progressive-discipline chart.