Phila.'s HR head resigns after revamp

The city's director of human resources has resigned amid a revamping of the department by Mayor Kenney, which the chair of the city's Civil Service Commission said had caused "bad blood" between the administration and the department.

Albert D'Attilio submitted a letter of resignation last week. In an email to The Inquirer, D'Attilio said his leaving was unrelated to changes at the office.

But Civil Service Chair Doris A. Smith said frustrations in the human resources department had mounted as the administration worked around D'Attilio, often leaving him out of critical meetings and conversations.

"The director of human resources reports to the commission," Smith said. "That wasn't happening. . . . [The administration] was contacting employees, setting up meetings he knew nothing about, trying to go around him to get information. Al's such a decent man and much to our regret, he said, 'I'm leaving.' "

The tension seemed to stem from the fact that, as stipulated in the charter, the human resources director reports to the Civil Service Commission and not the mayor. The notion was that the person in charge of civil service hiring, civil service exams, and lists should be managed by someone independent of the mayor's office, Smith said.

In recent months, that distinction seemed a little bit gray, creating an "unpleasant" environment that lead to D'Attilio's resignation, Smith said.

"The commission has been totally disrespected. . . . It could have been handled differently, but now there is bad blood."

Kenney has embarked on an effort to revamp the city's hiring and recruitment practices in the human resources office.

In January, Kenney directed the newly created office of the Chief Administrative Officer to amp up training, recruitment, and modernization projects in human resources and other often-overlooked departments.

The efforts were being spearheaded by Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Jackie Linton. Tensions between D'Attilio and Linton became apparent when Smith and fellow commissioner Lynda Orfanelli sent a letter to the city solicitor in January. In the letter, the commissioners wrote that D'Attilio had been directed to report to Linton, which violated the charter.

Linton said last week the goal is to coordinate - not direct - human resources, and to bring needed changes like project management classes and more recruitment outreach to communities. The city's charter, written in 1951, does not require many of the functions of a modern human resources department, Linton said.

That's not because the office has been shirking its duties, said Orfanelli, who was human resources director from 2004 to 2006.

Orfanelli said the office, which serves 25,000-plus city employees, lost its training budget when she was at the helm and has requested it every year since.

Recruitment, she said, also was slashed before she got there, and the staff, once as large as 130, is now at about 82.

"It sounds as though we were shirking our duty. We were not," she said. "We didn't have a budget, and that precedes this administration."

D'Attilio, director since 2008 and a former director of human resources at Philadelphia Gas Works, said he was offered a job in the private sector.

"I wish to thank the Civil Service Commission, the Office of Human Resources, and the City of Philadelphia for many good years, and I wish everyone the best," he wrote.

The three-member commission will soon begin interviewing candidates to replace D'Attilio.

Mayoral spokesman Mike Dunn said the administration "looks forward to working with the new personnel director once the Civil Service Commission has made their final appointment. The administration remains committed to bringing much-needed improvements to the Human Resources Department for all workers, civil service and exempt."

Both Smith and Orfanelli said despite tensions in recent weeks, they want to work with the administration.

"I've been through many transitions," Orfanelli said. "Transition is difficult, it's tricky, and every transition has its problems. Things straighten out as time goes on, and hopefully all this will settle down, too."

jterruso@phillynews.com

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@juliaterruso