County Executive Robert R. Neall has fired his chief administrative officer, citing delays in completing projects he had been supervising.
Dennis H. Parkinson has been placed on administrative leave until Nov. 1, when he will be taken off the county payroll. Steven Welkos, the county’s director of finance, has been named the acting chief administrative officer.
“The county executive felt that Dennis’ operating style was not conducive to some of the things he wants to achieve over the next year in county government,” said Louise Hayman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Neall. “In the county executive’s eyes, Dennis’ office was becoming a bottleneck.”
Mr. Parkinson said yesterday he had “given it 100 percent” while in the position.
“All I can say is that I’ve given it my best,” he said. “If it wasn’t coming out fast enough, I was getting it out as fast as I could.”
He said he would take some time off before he starts looking for work again.
Mr. Parkinson was a top state budget officer when Mr. Neall hired him in February 1991 to run the county’s budget department. To bring Mr. Parkinson to the Arundel Center, Mr. Neall pushed a bill through the County Council that increased the allowable starting salary for high-level administrators hired from outside county government.
