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Petersburg shakeup continues

Jeremy M. Lazarus | 4/22/2016, 5:19 a.m.
Irvin M. Carter Jr. has been dismissed as director of the Petersburg Finance Department in the latest city government shakeup.
Mr. Carter

Irvin M. Carter Jr. has been dismissed as director of the Petersburg Finance Department in the latest city government shakeup.

He was given notice that his services were no longer needed, according to Dironna M. Belton, Petersburg’s interim city manager.

She said Petersburg is working with a company that offers budgeting expertise as the search for a new finance director begins.

Mr. Carter’s departure follows a recent audit indicating the city finished the 2015 fiscal year that ended June 30 with a $4 million deficit and currently is facing a $7 million shortfall in its general fund.

Meanwhile, the city is trying to resolve a major problem with its water billing system that has either created overcharges or left people without bills.

Mr. Carter, who joined Petersburg’s staff in 2011, was an ally of the former city manager, William Johnson III. He had worked with Mr. Johnson in Richmond while Mr. Johnson was a Richmond deputy city manager, and Mr. Johnson hired Mr. Carter a few months after coming to Petersburg.

Mr. Carter’s departure came just weeks after Mr. Johnson was fired by the Petersburg City Council. Earlier, Brian Telfair left his post as city attorney.

Separately, city Treasurer Kevin Brown, who collects taxes for the City of Petersburg, created an uproar when he had the city’s daily newspaper, The Progress-Index, publish a 44-page supplement during the weekend with the names of people who owe a collective $10 million in unpaid real estate and personal property taxes in Petersburg.

Many whose names were listed were upset while others were shocked that Mr. Brown spent $21,000 to publish the list.