After the city manager was reprimanded for violating the city’s “Respectful Workplace Policy,” he stated that he wanted to move forward positively with the council, employees and community. I’ve seen or heard little evidence of that promise being kept uniformly. What his supporters see is not what a number of city employees and city residents have experienced in their dealings with him. The actual reprimand he received read more like a letter of commendation than a letter that was supposed to severely censure. This letter was signed by the mayor, and I believe there was little or no input from other council members in the actual wording of the reprimand.

After the April 13 council meeting it makes little difference now. The council decided to remove the reprimand from the city manager’s work file. This reprimand had just been issued in January and had been based on an investigation performed by outside council who interviewed everyone involved. I would like to know what goals were set up for the removal of this reprimand and how they were met in just a three-month period of time. I do not believe it was a unanimous decision that the city manager met or exceeded all categories in his evaluation or that the entire council looks forward to trying to progress into the future with him. My concern is that the council has given the highest-paid city employee preferential treatment that other city employees would not receive. That, I believe, is a form of discrimination in and of itself.

Some would say, “Why can’t you just let it go and move forward in a positive manner?” My answer is, “Where is the justice for the victims?” They are never talked about. They were never given a public apology from the city or the city manager. Even sadder is the fact that there is no remorse for all they suffered through and still suffer with based on their treatment by the city manager. Some council members have expressed concern, but they seem to be outnumbered by council members who are more concerned about the city manager’s resume and the city’s agenda, than the welfare of some of the city’s women employees.

Almost every day we read or hear on the news about violence against women and are told as a society we need to put an end to it. That violence comes in many forms, including a threatening outburst, yet the mayor and City Council seem to have taken this matter lightly based on their recent action.

The questions I would like to ask of the mayor, City Council and the city manager’s supporters are, “If it was your mother, sister, daughter or wife who was a victim of the city manager’s disrespectful behavior, where would your loyalties lie then?”  and “Would you do the right thing and support your family member or would you sacrifice them as you have sacrificed the current victims just to protect an individual with an agenda you support?”

 

Gary Hagen

Albert Lea