This was handled wrong on so many levels.
The city manager should be fired!

It is clear that city manager Jim Gailey did not get HR advice, but rather legal advice. So rather than treating the employee as person, they were treated as a thing.

It is common to spend time with an employee after announcing their layoff and help them process the news. This helps determine the laid-off employee�s state of mind. If they are distraught, then a friend or family member could be called to ensure they get home safely. If they become angry or threatening, the employer could call in police to help calm them down and to protect other employees from potential harm. This process gives the employer the opportunity to know whether they need to be concerned about the laid-off employee returning to retaliate (which we have all read about in the news in other areas of the country).

To many, being told they have lost their job (particularly after 25+ years of service) is similar to hearing a loved one had just died. Would any of us let someone who is distraught get in their cars and drive home? I have read of instances where a laid-off employee got into an accident after being told to leave the premise and the company was found to be liable. The city is lucky that that this did not happen this time. Hopefully, the city manager will learn from this experience and better handle any future events.

Layoffs or not, the issue here is the process. While I do not believe that the City Manager should be required to come to the Council to seek permission (that is not there job; the city manager is hired and paid well to think, analyze, evaluate and decide), I believe it IS his responsibility to be completely transparent and keep the Councilors informed (by full disclosure) and aware of these decisions. Councilors are good at asking the questions that constituents may ask—they are close to the ground and can, as a body, pose the possible fall outs and give the Manager a chance to demonstrate his decision-making process. Then the Council must not change his decisions but it should evaluate the performance of the Manager based on those decisions and the consequences.

For me, the real question is: Did the Manager’s actions model the behaviors, values and ethics that we as residents hold near and dear? Was compassion by-passed for efficiency? Was the unwillingness to talk to employees about these decisions, to help them in the transition, and to prepare departments for these changes a result of lack of experience and skills? If the Manager listens to an attorney when it goes against his core beliefs, one must ask WHY did he NOT say, “thanks for your advice, but I think this is not the way to go?” Why did he heed advice that did not, as he reported, sit well with him? What led him to a decision of this magnitude that he says violated his core values? These are the questions that need answering AND evaluating. That is the job the Council has ahead of itself.

Additionally, why did one Councilor (Mayor Blake) know this but no one else knew? Lest we forget, our Mayor is not elected by popular vote but by a vote of 3 other Councilors. I believe Tom Blake is a good man with a good heart who wants to do a good job. I also believe his job, as Mayor, is to insure that all Councilors all have the same information. That allows them to work cohesively, even in times of disagreement.

This action should bring great pause in this city. Everyone is challenged in these economic times. If we cannot show care, compassion, respect and sensitivity to everyone at all times, we must re-evaluate our values, our goals, and our motives. This is a time when heart and humanity need to be central to actions. Remember: you could be next.

Sincerely,
Rosemarie De Angelis
Former City Councilor, District 3

And imagine how it feels for the remaining employees—“Your job today is to clean out your laid-off colleague’s office . . .”

How is morale improved when now others think “Oh no am I next?  Should i take my personal belongings home so my co-workers won’t be packing up my things for me???”  How awful is it to be told someone else will clear out your office for you after 27 years of dedicated service to a job?  Were any of these people offered job training assistance or anything?  At least corporations give out information on where to go and how to sign up!

the comment about basketball was that certain workers at the community center can be found WATCHING college basketball while other workers can be found working…which is what they are paid to be doing…..of course no one is playing college b-ball at the rec center… and I am not pretending to be an economist, nor do I envy the job of one who has to make cuts, the point is it should have and could have been handled in a kinder manner. Our town is not a corporation we are a close knit community where we have the capabilities to handle business in a humanistic manner. Are we not?

But the question here isn’t about corporation vs. public entity, it’s about whether these people were unfairly targeted and intentionally purged under the excuse of a layoff.

We are NOT a corporation - I did not indicate in my email that the people I know worked for corporations. One of them did, but one of the others who were laid off worked for a non-profit (funded by the United Way).
So it is true that visions of Enron jump into our heads when we think of people leaving their offices with boxes in hand, but the truth is many small companies do the same. Common practice is to lay off or fire individuals on Fridays. It is not just corporations, it is business. And like it or not, any government has a budget and it has to work within it, except for the federal government it seems.

Um… they don’t play College Basketball at the SPCC…

Check out the article in the Forecaster. Pay raises in December; layoffs in February. That makes perfect sense. It says they “were due increases based on their increased responsibilities”. Wonder if those taking on the responsibilities of the laid off workers will be getting raises too? Seems only fair.
http://www.theforecaster.net/story.php?storyid=18041.