By RICHARD WALKER
and TERRYL ASLA
North Kitsap Herald
POULSBO — Barry Berezowsky is no longer planning and economic development director for the City of Poulsbo.
Berezowsky’s employment ended at the end of the day Aug. 23 after a meeting with Mayor Becky Erickson. The Herald could not confirm Aug. 25 whether Berezowsky was fired or resigned. Erickson said she and Berezowsky had “a difference in management style” and that “he no longer works here.”
“Because this is a personnel issue, I can’t discuss it further,” she said.
According to the city’s response to a public records request from the Herald, the city has no record of complaints or counseling regarding Berezowsky’s job performance.
Berezowsky declined to comment on Sept. 1, and referred all questions to the mayor.
Senior Planner Karla Boughton is interim director.
Berezowsky, a 17-year employee of the City of Poulsbo, served as director of the department since Jan. 1, 2004 and earned $107,015 a year, Human Resources Manager Deanna Kingery said.
According to his LinkedIn biography, Berezowsky earned an undergraduate degree in geography in 1981 from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. He earned a master’s degree in regional development in 1984 from the University of Arizona, and a master’s in urban planning and design in 1992 from the University of Washington.
He worked as a planner for Jefferson County before joining Poulsbo as senior planner in March 1999.
Several members of the City Council were out of town or on vacation, taking advantage of two weeks in which there were no council meetings. The news of Berezowsky’s departure came as a shock.
“From my perspective on the council, he did a fine job,” Councilman Ken Thomas said, “so it was a little of a surprise to me. I don’t know any of the details, but I thought he did a great job.”
Councilman Jim Henry was vacationing in Chicago and was at a loss for words. “I was fond of Barry,” he said. “I don’t know much about his [management] style, but I never heard anybody who works for him complain. I thought he did all right.”
Councilman David Musgrove said he had seen a short memo essentially stating that Berezowsky was no longer employed by the city and that Boughton was acting director of the planning and economic development department.
“My working relationship [with Berezowsky] has been very professional,” Musgrove said. “I wasn’t aware of anything coming. It wasn’t on my radar, anyway … There was no executive session on this, although I am sure there will be one now.”
He added, “[Mayor Erickson] is basically the manager and she has the hiring and firing authority in most cases under Poulsbo Municipal Code.”
