In a city hall shakeup that will take many by surprise, Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent fired her Director of Financial Services, Becky Hasart, late Thursday afternoon.

Lent, though, said the move didn’t come out of left field.

“We have had a conversation the last few months about financial services so it didn’t come as a surprise,” Lent said, noting that Human Resources was recently removed from Hasart’s portfolio and placed under City Attorney Roger Lubovich.

“Becky came in and did exactly what I wanted her to do,” Lent said. “There are cities two and three times our size that are looking for finance directors and I’m going to give her a glowing letter of recommendation. It’s really positive. She’s going to be a real asset to a city that’s bigger than we are. I think it will be positive for Becky as well as the city.”

Messages left with Hasart Friday morning for comment were not immediately returned.

Lent said that removing Human Resources from under the direction of Hasart was a first step in reorganizing and streamlining city hall. Lent also hopes to figure out a way to make the City Clerk position, which also oversees parking issues and the Humane Society, a part of Lubovich’s legal department.

“Those are all legal matters,” Lent said. “I think Human Resources and the City Clerk should be under the legal department.”

Lent said that her next step will be putting together a new job description for a financial services director that will be advertised in January. In the meantime, Cathy Johnson, Hasart’s former assistant, will take over as interim Financial Services Director.

Hasart was Lent’s third Financial Services Director in her first term. Lent fired Andy Parks shortly after taking office and hired former county treasurer Barbara Stephenson, who retired a short time later. Before Lent hired Hasart, she worked worked in Washougal just outside Vancouver along the Columbia River.