City Manager addresses Council’s treatment of city employees

In a strongly worded email to the members of City Council on Jan. 20, City Manager Luke Stowe listed multiple complaints from city employees about treatment by Council members.

He invited each of them to meet individually with Mayor Daniel Biss and himself “to discuss these concerns and how the council and staff can work together more productively and collaboratively for the benefit of everyone.”

Unemployment rates are at a 53-year low, the email said, and “we risk continuing to lose some of our best staff members unless there is a substantial and meaningful course correction.”

The RoundTable obtained Stowe’s email and Council members’ responses on Feb. 15 through an FOI request and subsequently contacted Stowe and Biss to see if either wished to make further comment.

The complaints

Among the concerns Stowe listed while explaining how Council members’ actions have contributed to an “unhealthy work environment” were the following:

• “Contacting different staff members to “shop” for a different answer if they did not receive the answer they initially sought. This approach is time-consuming and creates internal confusion, and sows distrust.
• “Using language in emails or other communications that would be considered unhealthy or hostile if sent by their manager or other city colleagues. 
• “Not respecting the council-manager form of government that Evanston has maintained since 1952. Councilmembers often direct staff, including staff below the Director level. This is inappropriate given our form of government, creates confusion, and makes most staff uncomfortable and unclear about how to proceed. Perhaps most of all, it’s not appropriate for one Councilmember to commit staff time, resources, and funding which could be contradictory to the majority will of the rest of the City Council.
• “Some female staffers have shared that some Council members do not respect their opinion or position due to their gender.
• “Many staff believes the City Council typically does not ‘have their back’ regarding difficult or unpopular decisions in the community.
• “Staff occasionally receive abusive communications from the public that the city council is aware of but rarely defends or intervenes on behalf of staff.
• “Arriving late (or not at all) to staff and/or city council meetings. There is often no communication when they will be late or miss the meeting. It is disrespectful to staff, outside attendees, members of the public, and fellow Council members.
• “At times, some Council members do not correctly portray the accurate results of meetings, interactions with staff, and other proceedings when communicating publicly, including at the dais during council meetings.
• “Requesting data or information that will take several hours of staff time and expecting near-instant turnaround time despite the existing workload.
• “Confusing ‘bad news’ that a staff member delivers as the fault of the staff person -even if that person had little or no control over the issue.
• “[Inability] to manage disagreements with staff in a professional manner. Keeping grudges against staff for prior disputes over policy or professional opinions.
• “Public criticism of staff is often misleading, inaccurate, or leaves out full context.
• “Coaching members of the public to criticize staff during public meetings.
• “Sharing confidential and/or sensitive information with people not entitled to the information. We’ve witnessed statements during public comment, in public, or online that should only be discussed in executive sessions.
• “Violating a ‘no-surprise’ rule at City Council meetings. Certain Councilmembers have blindsided the staff. Staff always tries to keep the City Council informed so they are not surprised, especially on Monday nights. Staff asks for the same from Councilmembers.
• “Demonstrating favoritism of particular residents and/or businesses over others.”

Noting that not all of the complaints applied to all Council members, Stowe wrote, nonetheless, “Such actions put staff in difficult or impossible situations because Councilmembers are not employees and are therefore not subject to the City’s HR policies. … 

“We all recognize the city has challenges and lots of room for improvement, but we rarely, if ever, celebrate the successes.

“Staff needs the freedom to offer their professional opinion without fear of retaliation, bullying, or impact on their career.”

Several Council members, including Biss responded quickly to Stowe’s email:

• Biss thanked Stowe for the email and noted, “His message tracks with what I’ve been hearing from staff as well. … One other concern I consistently hear from staff, as well as former staff and potential future employees (not to mention community members) is related to the chaotic nature of our Council meetings.”
• Sixth Ward Council Member Thomas Suffredin wrote, “Thanks. Set up my appointment as soon as possible.” He told the RoundTable in a subsequent interview: “Let’s do better. Everyone – council members and city staff – needs to get it together and do their jobs and remember the end-users are the taxpayers and the residents.”
• Council Member Bobby Burns, 5th Ward, wrote, “To truly have a productive discussion, I think it would be good for Council members to develop a list of concerns we have regarding staff. I’ll work with my colleagues on that list and get back to you as soon as possible. I think this will be a worthwhile exercise for all involved. Thank you for organizing this!”
• Third Ward Council member Melissa Wynne, the senior member of the Council, responded, “Thank you for the email. I’m happy to talk about these issues.”
• Council member Devon Reid, 8th Ward, sent two emails, one calling for an executive session: “We need to put names to this behavior, the body collectively is responsible for holding its members individually accountable for inappropriate behavior (including among one another). Further, it may be helpful to set clear expectations for Staff interactions with council-members.” In a subsequent email he wrote, “To be clear, I do not believe myself to be absolved of the issues listed in the bullet points. The point of requesting the executive meeting is to avoid siloed discussions and to ensure clear expectations are set for both Council and Staff.”

On Feb. 22, the Mayor said his response to Stowe’s email (quoted above) speaks for itself.

Stowe wrote: “One of the critical responsibilities of the City Manager is to ensure a healthy work environment for our employees. I will continue working with the City Council to accomplish that goal so that we can achieve our community’s goals together.” 

The RoundTable asked Corporation Counsel Nicholas Cummings whether an executive session to discuss the behavior of Council members, such as Reid proposed, would be appropriate. The Illinois Open Meetings Act allows an exception to discuss personnel, but Council members are not “employees” of the city.

He responded, “Based on your description, it would seem the members of Council could convene to determine if any disciplinary action can or should be taken against any member.  That exception would be 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(3). However, absent more facts, I cannot say for certain if any exception applies.”