Adrian Perkins will be sworn as Shreveport’s next mayor on Saturday, December 29. That leaves little time for a transition from Mayor Ollie Tyler’s administration.
Perkins is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Tyler. Here are some topics that they should address:
1. Former Chief Administrative Officer Brian Crawford has resigned and his office is empty.
Perkins should be offered the use of this office and the large conference room at City Hall.
2. Perkins should ask Tyler not to sign any long term contracts that bind the City before leaving office.
3. Tyler should invite Perkins to attend her Monday staff meeting with department heads, and all other meetings with city officials—in a listen but not talk position.
4. Tyler should provide Perkins an accurate, confidential list of potential problems that she has knowledge of—but are not out in the public domain.
5. Tyler should allow Perkins to interview all department heads and assistant department heads before December 29.
6. Perkins should be allowed to have a limited number of his transition team members participate in the above and to have any other empty office space.
7. Tyler and Perkins need to decide who will use the city suite for the Independence Bowl on Dec. 27 – current mayor, mayor-elect, or both.
8. Tyler should inform Perkins if any city department heads or assistant department heads have told her they will resign by the end of the year.
There is plenty of things that can be done to have a successful transition. Unfortunately there are not written procedures for a change of command at city hall.
(This article will be posted in The Shreveport Times on Wednesday, December 12, 2018)