MONTEGO BAY — Come January 2, the post of secretary manager of the St James Parish Council will become vacant as Lillieth Allen, who has been in the civil service for over 40 years, will go on retirement leave.

Allen, who is now on departmental leave, will return only to hand over the reins to Christopher Powell, director of finance for the Clarendon Parish Council. Powell, who has been in the civil service for the last three years, will temporarily fill the post. He is expected to be confirmed in the position in September when it officially becomes available.

Allen’s departure is being viewed with mixed feelings as she has ruffled many feathers during her stint at the St James Parish Council. For example, she is known within the Council for her staunch refusal to be intimidated by political representatives and penchant for sticking to the rules.

In fact, some of her more well-known run-ins involved her efforts to regularise the management of the People’s Arcade along Howard Cooke Boulevard, and her attempts to get the Charles Gordon Market to become a viable business enterprise.

Also, Allen’s refusal to approve payment for supplies believed to have been used in the illicit Montego Bay street people removal, was one of the red flags used to unravel the sequence of events during the Commission of Inquiry into the incident.