Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009
I’m not sure what kind of management Bakersfield’s City Council thinks we should get for our money, but I, for one, don’t want to pay people to harass, discriminate and retaliate against employees.
That’s apparently what’s been happening at the Fire Department, according to a jury verdict returned in March. Until recently the council has maintained a deafening silence on this issue.
Last Sunday I wrote a column detailing management practices in the Fire Department that are so poor they cost taxpayers $1 million in a lawsuit by former firefighter Robby Pratt. (At least one prior suit found the department’s practices “arbitrary and capricious” and cost us about $100,000.)
The city lost on all 13 questions in the Pratt case. Most important, jurors said, Fire Department managers did harass, retaliate and discriminate against an employee.
It doesn’t get much worse than that.
What, I wondered, did the City Council intend to do?
Not a peep. Nothing.
I had to call around and put the question to each of them directly.
In fairness, they all (at least those who deigned to call me back) had answers.
But remember, this verdict came down six months ago with zero council reaction.
Monetary issues in Pratt were just recently settled, but that should not have kept council members from publicly seeking some kind of assurance that management had changed, training had increased or something had happened to assure taxpayers we wouldn’t have to walk down this path again and again.
“I would think the city fire department, city manager and council would welcome a review of their personnel and management practices,” said former City Councilman and tireless advocate for open government Mark Salvaggio.
“It doesn’t mean (Fire Chief Ron) Fraze loses his job. It should mean we all become wiser from this, not be afraid of discussing it openly.
“What can it hurt?”
Council members Irma Carson, Harold Hanson, David Couch and Sue Benham all agreed they would be asking for some kind of accounting or report at the city’s next meeting (Sept. 9).
Councilmembers Zack Scrivner and Ken Weir didn’t return my repeated phone calls, nor respond to my emails.
Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan said she hadn’t had a chance to consider fallout from the case and couldn’t comment because “I don’t know the thinking on that.”
Others had given some cogent thought to this issue, which has been going on since 2004.
“The policies we have in place, if they’re being followed, should protect us,” Benham said. “But are we doing business in a responsible way? I would like to have (City Attorney) Ginny (Gennaro) take a look at that.”
Couch told me after last Sunday’s expose, he called Gennaro and asked if there was some way the city attorney could lay out what happened in that lawsuit from the city’s perspective.
“It certainly appears embarrassing,” he said of the verdict. “We ought to have a case study using this case to say ‘Here’s what went wrong,’ ‘Here’s when’ and ‘Here’s how we’re going to fix it.’
“But I don’t think all of that can be made public because of personnel issues. That’s the frustrating part about what you’re asking.”
Hmmm. I’m not buying it.
That catch-all, government invisibility cloak of “personnel issues,” which has been used to hide a multitude of sins in my opinion, can’t be used this time.
I’d have to be shown the law that says council members can’t examine possible management problems that have already been examined and cross-examined in open court.
Nitpicking aside, I give grudging kudos to those council members who’ve stepped up to the plate on the taxpayers’ behalf, even if belated or half-hearted.
There is one a bright spot to this dingy story.
And that is that Human Resources, which blundered so unbelievably badly on the Pratt case, seems to have turned around and is steaming along under the capable guidance of Javier Lozano, a certified human resource specialist with loads of experience.
Since taking over close to three years ago, Lozano has made sure the city is compliant with state and federal harassment training requirements, launched a supervisor development program, holds twice monthly seminars on diverse topics and has increased outreach to every department in the city.
His philosophy is that HR should be absolutely neutral, take every complaint seriously and make recommendations but not lay down edicts.
His efforts are paying off.
Now, he said, “People are coming to us before they make a mess.”
That’s great, but council members still need to account for the Pratt mess at their feet.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/noholdsbarred, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
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