By Anne Geggis
Boynton Beach fired its human resources director 25 days before Election Day as voters consider her for a spot on the Delray Beach City Commission.
Tennille DeCoste had frequently cited her 20 years of experience saving taxpayer money as a city human resources director throughout the region as a selling point for her Delray Beach commission campaign. But, following a three-month investigation, Boynton Beach officials on Feb. 23 fired her, chiefly citing instances that her campaign for the Delray Beach seat leaked into aspects of her city job in violation of city policies.
DeCoste, who was employed with the city for 14 months with a $188,000 annual salary, denied the accusations.
The 32-page document contains 11 allegations that came from anonymous sources. It uses DeCoste’s social media posts and spreadsheets in making the case.
Six of the allegations were found to be substantiated and a violation of city policies. Another two were substantiated but not violations of city policy, yet called into question her ability to do her job effectively. Another two were unsubstantiated but raised concerns, and another one was designated simply “unsubstantiated” and arising out of erroneous information.
DeCoste issued a 730-word statement denying that she misused her position or engaged in unethical behavior. She raised questions about the investigator, Stephanie Marchman, who works for the Gainesville branch of the law firm GrayRobinson.
“The investigation was pre-determined, tainted and completed by the City Attorney’s friend,” DeCoste’s statement reads.
Marchman, however, preempted that allegation in her report. “I have no knowledge of its local figures or politics,” she wrote of Boynton Beach.
Using a city card to buy a VIP ticket to the Community Compass Center Stonewall Ball and using city resources to ask city employees to contribute to her political campaign are among the most serious allegations.
DeCoste notes that the city’s allegations started after she complained about being told she was “hiring too many black women in HR.”
“Now it’s my turn as a black woman, my claims are true and the evidence that I provided to the OIG and Ethics will show it once they finish investigating the City Manager,” DeCoste wrote in her response.
Marchman noted that although she wasn’t hired to evaluate DeCoste’s allegations against the city manager, she did take a look at the allegations DeCoste had sent to Mayor Ty Penserga.
“As discussed herein, I do not find Ms. DeCoste to be credible based on her own untruthful statements during my interview of her,” Marchman wrote, noting that city administration denied telling the human resources director that she was “hiring too many black women.”
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