City's HR Director Resigns

Carlos Vargas has resigned as the City of Rockville’s human resources director, city officials confirmed Tuesday. 

Acting city manager Jennifer Kimball informed the City Council of Vargas’s resignation over the weekend, City Councilman Tom Moore said in an email response to questions from Rockville Patch.

“Mr. Vargas is leaving the Rockville city government to take a new job at a nonprofit organization,” Moore wrote.

Moore said he had not seen Vargas’s resignation letter and did not know when it was tendered or when the resignation took effect. A voice mail left for Kimball on Tuesday was not returned.

“I firmly consider personnel matters such as this to be the responsibility of the City Manager,” Moore wrote. “I think Ms. Kimball has very carefully and skillfully balanced competing priorities in handling this matter.”

Vargas was criticized by former Rockville employees who, , claimed they were subjected to harassment and discrimination by their supervisors while employed by the city.

The city  of the former employees’ claims.

Most city officials, including Vargas, have remained silent about the claims, citing city policy not to discuss personnel matters.

"If the director of human resources refuses to discuss personnel matters it is because he is doing his job and is following the law,"  last week. "Silence on the part of Mayor and Council and the city staff with respect to these matters does not constitute agreement with the allegations and does not amount to stonewalling."

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio told MoCoVox.com that Vargas tendered his resignation two weeks ago, but that she was unaware of it until Monday evening, the Web site reported. The resignation was not mentioned at Monday’s City Council meeting.

Moore, in his email to Rockville Patch, thanked Vargas and praised the job he did.

Moore wrote:

“One thing that has become clear to me since I've been in office is that Rockville's personnel policies need a thorough update. Carlos Vargas spent five years working hard to make many of the changes we need; our new city manager will choose someone to continue his diligent efforts. 

I wish Mr. Vargas all the best in his new job. He leaves behind a City that is run more professionally than when he arrived, and I thank him for all his efforts to make that happen.”

Marcuccio also said that the new city manager would hire a new HR director, MoCoVox.com reported. The City Council has narrowed its search for a new city manager to .