Critics had been calling for her ouster since January.

Auditors complained that City Human Resources Commissioner Karla L. Thomas showed no interest in fixing problems, once even uttering "TMI" (too much information) when she was given details about deficiencies.

Seven months ago, when Mayor Byron W. Brown ordered her to take steps to improve operations, auditors said she ignored the directive.

Thursday, Brown finally pulled the trigger and told Thomas she is being fired. Thomas will have the option to challenge the ouster at a Sept. 16 hearing that Brown must hold as stipulated under the City Charter. Until then, she will remain on the payroll and can continue to perform her duties.

Why did the mayor wait so long to fire a commissioner who had clearly become a political and public relations liability?

"I did not want to have a knee-jerk reaction to this -- did not want to respond emotionally," Brown replied.

  -----

Audio: Listen to Brown discuss his decision to fire Thomas by playing the clip to the left or click here to download it.

  -----

Instead, Brown waited until the city's top attorney presented a report that confirmed the findings of a scathing review done by City Comptroller Andrew A. SanFilippo.

Brown said it was clear that Thomas did not take timely steps to address the most glaring deficiency. The city had been paying health insurance premiums for 170 deceased employees, costing more than $2 million. Auditors warned Thomas of the problem in January, but officials contend that she failed to take the simple step of purchasing Society Security death data.

"I issued a directive that would have provided a path to correct deficiencies in the Division of Compensation and Benefits," Brown said. "That directive was not followed, ... and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were lost. I'm very disappointed by that."

Thomas returned a reporter's call about three hours after she learned of her termination.

"I will speak to you after I speak to my attorney," Thomas said. "I really need to seek legal counsel."

Thomas, a former human resources director at the Erie County Water Authority, would not comment on whether she plans to challenge the firing or whether she will sue. Unlike other commissioners who serve at the pleasure of the mayor, human resources chiefs are given six-year contracts under state law. There must be clear grounds for removing a commissioner. Some members of the Common Council believe that Brown had enough ammunition to fire her earlier this year from the position, which pays more than $91,000 a year.

"The outcome was clear a long time ago," said Council Member Michael J. LoCurto of the Delaware District. "I questioned her even being nominated for the position. I thought she was clearly unqualified."

LoCurto was among three lawmakers who opposed Thomas' confirmation two years ago. The others were Council President David A. Franczyk of the Fillmore District and Council Member Michael P. Kearns of the South District.

Thomas, 54, is longtime ally of Brown who, until her appointment as commissioner, headed Grassroots, a political group that Brown helped build and that helped launch his career in elective office.

Brown said the Charter requires the mayor to hold a termination hearing before a human resources commissioner is formally ousted. Still, he insisted that Thursday's action amounts to a firing.

"Today, I have sent notice to Commissioner Thomas that I am terminating her, and she will have the option to go to a hearing to discuss that," he said.

Brown's action follows a series of reviews launched by the Comptroller's Office under Chief Auditor Darryl McPherson. The January audit pinpointed numerous problems in the Human Resources Department, most of which predated Thomas' hiring in September 2008. Brown immediately directed Thomas to take 10 corrective actions. Many of the orders were ignored, according to auditors who performed a follow-up review.

SanFilippo had no comment on Brown's decision to fire Thomas. But LoCurto insisted that the mayor should have taken action when it became clear earlier this year that she wasn't performing her duties.

"What would have happened if the comptroller had never done a follow-up?" LoCurto asked. "Would [the administration] have just sat on this and done nothing?"

But Masten Council Member Demone A. Smith said getting rid of Thomas will not fix problems that have plagued the Human Resources Department for decades. One example involves an audit conducted 17 years ago that found that the city had paid more than $441,000 for health benefits for dead retirees.

"Firing someone isn't solving the problem. You just end up putting a face out there to try to quell the anger," Smith said. He added that he believes there are other people who will have to share the blame for deficiencies in the department.

"From my understanding, Karla Thomas was given six months to fix stuff that had been broken for many years," Smith said. "She put her trust in people who said things were being taken care of."

Brown disclosed Thursday that talks have been under way with insurance carriers. The city has secured an agreement to recoup about $750,000 in premiums that were paid for the deceased individuals. The city also received assurances that insurers will reimburse about $240,000 for double payments the city made for policies that covered some employees.

The mayor's decision to serve Thomas with termination papers came on the same day that one of his closest political allies on the Council filed a resolution demanding that Thomas be removed. North Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr. said SanFilippo's findings are disturbing.

"This is inexcusable, and the commissioner must be held accountable for all the actions that occur in her department," Golombek said. "Therefore, if she won't resign, she should be removed from her position."

But Golombek is in a spirited Democratic primary campaign against Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, a longtime foe of Brown. Some lawmakers grumbled privately that Golombek's call for Thomas' ouster on the same day that the mayor took the action amounted to political theater.

Firings of department heads by mayors in the middle of their terms is highly uncommon in Buffalo. Typically, mayors wait until the start of a new term to overhaul the Cabinet. For example, Brown decided earlier this year not to rehire his police and fire commissioners.But midterm ousters are not unprecedented. For example, Brown forced Richard M. Tobe, the city's widely regarded commissioner of economic development, permits and inspections, to quit two years ago.

News Staff Reporter Phil Fairbanks contributed to this report.

bmeyer@buffnews.comnull