Veteran city employee tapped to head St. Paul public works

The city of St. Paul has promoted a veteran city employee to lead its embattled public works department.

Rich Lallier will become the new public works director, a job he's filled over the past few months after the sudden resignation of Bruce Beese in March. Beese stepped down following a scandal involving street maintenance crews.

KSTP-TV exposed a number of workers taking extra-long breaks when they should have been filling potholes. The news segment led to a city investigation that resulted in an overhaul of policies and the suspension of 17 workers, though none was fired.

Mayor Chris Coleman has said a lack of oversight within the department contributed to a culture of loafing around.

Lallier started his career with the city's parks and recreation department in 1978, working as a lifeguard and other jobs. He later managed parks operations.