Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the firing of another department head Thursday as dismissals continued at City Hall. Environment commissioner Nancy L. Girard was “separat[ed] from employment,” press secretary Kate Norton said in a statement.
“I was terminated without cause,” Girard said when reached by phone. “I was treated very civilly, other than the fact that they asked me to write a resignation letter three times and I refused.”
Girard said she was terminated at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The 57-year-old lives in Jamaica Plain, according to payroll data. She was appointed environment commissioner by former mayor Thomas M. Menino in August 2013.
The administration fired eight other managers in the last week and has been criticized for terminating longtime municipal employees without notice. Walsh said this week the firings have affected a small fraction of the city’s workforce of 18,000. Aides have argued that immediate dismissals are preferable to keeping disgruntled employees.
Girard has 20 years’ experience in environmental, energy, and municipal law, according to a press release issued upon her appointment. Walsh reappointed her when he took office in January.
“It would have been nice to have some forewarning,” Girard said about her dismissal. “I entered into a new lease, incurred expenses. To have them do something like this takes your breath away.”
Andrew Ryan can be reached at andrew.ryan@globe.com.