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New Parking Authority chief orders sexual harassment training, institutes hiring freeze

Among her first official moves as executive director of the beleaguered Philadelphia Parking Authority, Clarena Tolson has instituted a freeze on hiring and promotions.

Among her first official moves as executive director of the beleaguered Philadelphia Parking Authority, Clarena Tolson has instituted a freeze on hiring and promotions.

Tolson, whose predecessor resigned amid accusations of lewd behavior toward two female coworkers, has also ordered sexual harassment training for the agency's 1,100 employees - starting with directors and managers.

"It's important for the Parking Authority to provide a workplace that is appropriate for all personnel, without the threat of harassment and violence or impropriety," Tolson said.

Tolson, a Democrat leading the largely Republican-controlled agency, was formerly the city's deputy managing director for infrastructure and transportation. She has been in the new job for about two weeks. She has been named interim director but is being considered as the agency leads a national search for a permanent hire.

Tolson was tapped after Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., who led the agency for more than a decade, resigned amid accusations that he had sexually harassed two female coworkers more than a decade apart.

In the more recent case, Sue Cornell, the authority's senior director of strategic planning and administration, described Fenerty's behavior as persistent and spanning two years. In a letter to the agency's human-resources office, Cornell said Fenerty regularly professed his love to her, manipulated her work schedule so he could spend time with her, and once kissed her at an out-of-town conference.

The authority's board initially kept Fenerty on the job. It took steps to remove him only when allegations from a second woman - accusations some board members had been told about years prior - became public.

The scandal has prompted the state auditor general to open a review focused on the authority's policies and procedures.

Tolson said she, too, is taking a close look at how the agency operates. While that work is ongoing, she said, it does not make sense to make new hires or promote existing workers.

"It's important that we get the right people in the right place to do the job at hand," she said. "So it's important for us to not have a shifting organization as we try to make those decisions about how we are functioning."

She said her intent is to "tighten the organization" and increase efficiency, but did not say if that would include staff reductions at the agency, which has more than doubled in size over the last 15 years.

The newly ordered training about sexual harassment will be delivered by staff from the city. Tolson said the four-hour class will also cover topics such as racial and gender discrimination. The first is scheduled for Nov. 7.

tnadolny@phillynews.com

215-854-2730

@TriciaNadolny