When Brian McDougal accepted the position to become the city manager for the City of Port Arthur, I’m certain he had no idea how bad and/or tough things really were going to be. Yes, people informed him of issues, but until he had been here a couple months, it really hadn’t sunk in.

Posed with a problematic city council that struggles to work together, an overstaffed city payroll, and individuals in positions that they simply cannot handle, Mr. McDougal is focusing his managerial efforts on accountability of staff. Who’s doing their job and who’s simply just showing up to get a paycheck? Mr. McDougal is instilling a form of management that is long overdue in Port Arthur.

Recent shakeups over the removal of managerial positions in the city ranks reported this past week have the city buzzing and city employees nervous. Honestly, the only city employees that should be nervous are the ones who aren’t doing their job.

As much as our C.A.V.E friends have been posting on Internet sites and wanting us to believe these individuals left for fear of the upcoming forensic audit, it is amusing. They will say just about anything to help justify their previous actions and future motives. Truth is, if anything is found in the audit and it ties back to these individuals, they don’t have to be employed by the city for charges to be filed. Nonetheless, two of these positions were terminated with severance packages as they did not want to make the needed changes Mr. McDougal was implementing. The other resigned due to the inability to accept change as well. Might be a common theme here!

Mr. McDougal has a huge mountain  to climb ahead of him and I feel he is the perfect person for the job. He wants what we all want, a better city government for Port Arthur. He deserves our support and has proven in a short six months that he will do what is needed to get this done. Kudos to you Mr. City Manager!