14 February 2011

Rochelle Small-Toney

 update Sep 18, 2012

A little info on the person who gets paid almost $16,000 a month to run the city of Savannah - temporarily. The stand-in, city manager. (update Mar 2011: appointed City Manager).

Rochelle Denise Small-Toney resigned from assistant city manager in Charlottesville, Va and later was hired to fill a vacancy left at the city of Savannah by the retirement of Israel Small.

According to this article from Charlottesville, Toney misled the public up until her resignation.

http://super-blair.blogspot.com/2007/05/asst-city-manager-small-toney-resigns.html

Prior to those positions Toney was assistant city manager of Danville, Va.

Toney began with the city of Savannah on July 9, 2007 for an annual salary of $137,000, as chief of the Public Development Bureau.   By the first quarter of 2010 Toney's salary increased  to $173,000.  When Toney became a stand-in city manager,  city council gave her  raise, which put her current annual salary at $190, 575. (update 2012 - $195,000 )

Toney grew up in Wilmington, NC,  with her parents, Shirley A. and John B. Small Jr., and her younger sister, Rosalind.

Toney is a 1974 graduate of Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC and is a graduate of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) and was elected to the nationwide board of directors of the NFBPA in April 2010. Toney belongs to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, and she sits on the Board of Directors of BRAVO Music Company, Inc.

Toney is married to Leroy Toney, Sr., the mother of two children, Rosalind and Leroy Jr., and the grandmother of Isaiah and Josiah Toney.

http://savannahherald.net/prince-hall-mba-hosts-the-warren-jones-jr-gala-affair-p609-1.htm

Below is a disturbing excerpt from a SMNews Article, Toney is the one who brings up the issue of race, Toney's entire dialogue is race based from the beginning.


May 31, 2010 - 7:08am | Updated: February 3, 2011 - 3:14pm:

Waters is confident Small-Toney, 53, can handle the city manager job in Savannah.

Terry Enoch, a major with the Chatham County Sheriff's Department. At a new member induction for the 100 Black Men on Thursday (5-27-2010) night, where Small-Toney spoke, Enoch introduced her as the city's first black city manager


note: Small-Toney became city manager Mar 2011, NOT May 2010

Small-Toney is surprised, she said, at how quickly the issue of race asserted itself in the search for city manager.

If she were named permanently, she would be the first black city manager in the city's history. Some see that as an opportunity. Others see that as one more powerful position being filled by a minority. It shouldn't matter, but it's invariably part of the discussion.
 
"I am who I am. I am African-American, I am female, I am competent. I am a lot of things. It's sad in a way that the discussion had tilted toward race. So what does that say about Savannah? How diverse have we become in this city?"

The support she is getting from other employees helps her cope with the issue of race versus ability, she said.

"I can look beyond those innuendos because the people who matter are coming forward and saying, "Good job - we're confident in you," she said,


 "And they don't all look like me, either." 



--------- below - update  Sep 18, 2012 ---------

2012 - City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney asked to resign by mayor
http://savannahnow.com/news/2012-09-26/savannah-city-manager-rochelle-small-toney-asked-resign-mayor

2012 -

2012 - Mayor and Council do nothing to remove Small-Toney
Instead, city manager was only verbally reprimanded .
http://www.wtoc.com/story/19432561/savannah-city-council-reprimands-city-manager

2012 - Small-Toney LIED in Official Statement (video)

2012 - Small-Toney gives Official Statement about travel expenses.
Admits she needs to keep better track of receipts. 

2012 - Small-Toney violates travel expense policy
Expenses turned in five months late, includes handwritten IOU.

2011 - Small-Toney budgets $40,000 office renovation
Council members not aware of this allocation.
http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-06-21/city-manager-budgets-40000-renovations

2011 - People upset over City Manager's reception
$7,500 price tag -- city just laid off workers.
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2011/may/05/hundreds-attend-meet-and-greet-savannah-city-manag-ar-1808039/

2011 - Small-Toney Director for BRAVO Music Company
http://mp1219.blogspot.com/2011/03/small-toney-and-bravo-music-co-inc.html 

2011 - Skewed process taints manager search
http://mp1219.blogspot.com/2011/02/real-facts-letter-savannah-morning-news.html 

2010 - Small-Toney Director Nationwide Board for NFBPA
http://mp1219.blogspot.com/2011/03/small-toney-nfbpa-national-level.html


 *    *    *

2007 - Small-Toney RESIGNS from Asst City Manager Position
Small-Toney mislead the public. 

2007 - Savannah Director/Chief - Bureau of Public Development
(Assistant City Manager)  2007-2010
http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/SavannahGaGOV.nsf/a1cb1c03a5c4f7a9852572a000740182/b1f86078c9ec0a8c8525732c006c8df4?OpenDocument

2010 - Savannah Interim/Acting/Stand-in - City Manager Effective May 3, 2010
http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-05-31/rochelle-small-toney-ready-make-interim-city-manager-job-permanent

2011 - Savannah - City Manager Effective March 2011
http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-03-24/rochelle-small-toney-becomes-savannahs-city-manager

2 comments:

Charles Barr said...

Thank you for your Blog.

Walter said...

Petersburg thanks you. Most of it, anyway. I hope.