In the wake of Mayor Jason Beck’s election last November, the city of Peoria experienced an exodus of at least six employees in the city’s upper echelon of leadership.
The voluntary vacancies left a dearth in the municipality’s hierarchy that only recently has been filled.
But as new council members took their seats in January, the dominoes in upper management kept falling, and the final blow came on March 6 when Deputy City Manager Katie Gregory received a letter from recently appointed City Manager Henry Darwin that her at-will employment was terminated, effective immediately.
That left the last of the three deputy city managers gone, but Gregory had been fired rather than stepping down.
After nearly 23 years of employment with Peoria, she was forced to leave city hall with all her belongings and with no explanation to the public as to why she was fired.
Only weeks after her termination, Gregory was hired by the city of Prescott as its city manager.
A public record request for Gregory’s personnel file from Peoria revealed a glowing work record at the city as she moved up the ladder during the past two decades.
Gregory started with Peoria in May 2000 as a management assistant at just over a $36,000 salary.
Less than a year later she was promoted to management analyst, with a pay raise from $17.83 to $22.41 an hour. And by July 2005, her salary was $72,006, with the new title of development agreement coordinator.
In a letter dated Sept. 25, 2006, to then City Manager Terry Ellis, then Budget Director Jeff Tyne said Gregory had worked hard to develop strong relationships with all departments and as a result received “an exceptional” 10% increase in her salary.
Tyne, who would later be appointed city manager in 2017, said in the letter Gregory often went beyond her job function to “relate complex agreement conditions to city operations.”
“Katie has proven to be an indispensable component to the city’s development processes. Over the last year, she stepped into the newly established development administrator position, using her collaborative style and determinedness to ensure that important development obligations were being addressed consistently and appropriately,” Tyne stated. “In numerous instances this year, Katie consistently produced a superior work product, and has provided crucial assistance to her colleagues and superiors.”
The trajectory of Gregory’s rise continued as she oversaw development agreements during a time of expansive growth in Peoria.
After a period as the interim management and budget director for the city, she garnered more praise. As part of the city’s employee recognition program, in the interim position, Gregory was awarded 40 hours of administrative leave pay.
“As your interim assignment comes to an end, I would like to take this time to convey my sincere appreciation to you for all your efforts and excellent work while in this position. You have served the management and budget department well with your energy, leadership and creativity,” former City Manager Carl Swenson said in a letter to Gregory dated July 2, 2012.
In July 2016, she became the management and budget director, and in February 2018 she became deputy city manager, which commanded a salary of $186,350.
“We know you will continue developing the city to enhance and streamline services. You have a great opportunity to help guide the future of the city of Peoria,” Tyne said in a letter to Gregory, dated Feb.1, 2018.
She finished her career at Peoria with a salary of more than $204,000, second only to Tyne in the city at the time of his resignation earlier this year, according to a public record request in 2021.
At the time of Gregory’s firing in March, City Councilor Michael Finn said Gregory was a huge asset to Peoria.
Gregory’s knowledge base and direction was always helpful to Finn as a member of the council, he said.
“To say that I was surprised when I got word of Katie’s firing — that is a gross understatement. She was the last standing deputy city manager and great at her job. Katie has done so many things in her 23 years to move this city into the future and make it what it is today.”
The exodus of high-level Peoria officials began not long after Beck was elected last November.
Deputy City Managers Erik Strunk, Andy Granger and Real Estate Development Officer Scott Whyte stepped down after the election. City Manager Jeff Tyne on Nov. 22, 2022 announced his resignation from the city. His final day was Jan. 30.
City Attorney Vanessa Hickman stepped down Jan. 4.
Finally, Communications Director Briana Cortinas resigned on the same day that Gregory was fired, March 6.
The city manager may “adopt and promulgate personnel administrative regulations to provide for the operation of the merit system,” according to Peoria city code.
Since the exodus, most of the vacant positions have been filled.
City Manager Darwin has taken over Tyne’s position.
The three deputy city manager positions have been filled by former Peoria CFO Kevin Burke, former Arizona Department of Child Services Director Mike Faust and former Mesa Chief Innovation/Information Officer Travis Cutright.
The position of former City Attorney Vanessa Hickman has been filled by Acting City Attorney Emily Jurmu.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
Peoria,
Arizona,
Mayor Jason Beck,
election 2022,
November 2022,
general election,
exodus,
employees,
leadership,
leadership,
government,
management,
Henry Darwin
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