Bad Week for the Burg

[Willie Stroker]

Did anyone happen to notice Freddie "sliced and diced" our two fine "micromanagers" at Borough Hall in his column Tuesday ?

[Venter]

I tried to download it from the Times, but was unable to.
I'll try again.

[Venter]

Okay, here we go...
I love the disclaimer: "Opinions expressed here are Snyder’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper"!
It's a good thing he didn't say anything about "Progressives".

Posted: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 11:53 pm

Last week was a bad week for Gettysburg. Not as bad as those three days in July of 1863, but bad.

Two very capable borough employees resigned their jobs. They had enough of micromanaging and the attempts to undermine them, so they quit. I can’t say that I blame them, because I know they were constantly being badgered and their work scrutinized by two or three borough councilmen with literally too much time on their hands.

To be quite honest, Borough Council hasn’t had quality leadership for years. You may ask how I come to that conclusion. Please don’t forget I was a broadcast journalist long before I got behind a microphone at the local radio station. And, I had done radio shows for years with the Adams County Commissioners and Borough Council during my broadcast stint here. For the most part, I tried to ask questions that I felt the public would ask if they had the opportunity. I found a majority of my guests to be upfront with answers. Some were good interviews and some were lousy. You don’t hit a home run every time you go to the plate. The County Commissioners Shows flowed well, and so did the Borough Shows up until the last couple of years. I hated when I asked a question and I got some answer that I knew wasn’t close to what I asked. A couple of these people thought it was my first week on the job, and I called them out. That’s when it started to go downhill between me and the borough.

One borough president tried to cancel the monthly show, saying my “questions were too hard.” It then became an “us against Fred,” with one borough councilman warning a new member to not go on the show because he would try to “trip you up, and make you look bad.” She never did appear on my show. I always said, if you don’t know the answer, just say so. Believe me when I say I had excellent council people on the shows - Ted Streeter, Holly Giles, Bob Krummerich (especially good with finance), and Bill Monahan. Sure I battled with some of them. I called Streeter “Tough Talkin’ Teddy.” We sparred back and forth during the Gelwicks-Garcia debacle. Most of them would say they didn’t know an answer to a question or they would get back to me with an answer.

The only two on current council who ever said that were Michael Birkner and Jacob Schindel. As borough manager, Florence Ford was an excellent guest. She answered the questions I asked, and if she couldn’t she told me so, or said she would get the answer. Again, she knew her job and came with strong credentials from Cumberland Township. She knows how government works. The problems escalated downtown when the borough council president and vice-president chose to spend hours weekly at Borough Hall throwing a constant barrage of questions at staff under the guise of being “elected by constituents to ask questions and oversee the operation.” Well, Borough Council was elected to “oversee the operation of the government, not run it.”

One councilman did his best to undermine the mayor and wrest control of the police department from him. He was finally told by the solicitor to knock it off. Just four months ago, you had another councilman parading around the borough as if he were the code enforcement officer. When the former borough council president and vice president resigned their positions last year, Michael Birkner and Jacob Schindel assumed those leadership roles. According to my sources, things improved at Borough Hall, and the daily visits by the former president and vice president dissipated substantially for a while, but then gradually started again on a regular basis. The constant questioning, phone calls, the emails became, once again, a constant distraction for the administrator and staff trying to do their jobs as they answered some of the same questions over and over again.

Again, Council President Birkner told me he didn’t believe it was “micromanaging.” He continues to say it is the responsibility of council to make sure the taxpayers’ dollars are spent in the most prudent way. My question is whether it’s necessary to be constantly questioning and second-guessing a person the two of you hired. And yes, part of the problem was that Florence was not a “rubber stamp” catering to them. To be quite honest with you,

I have a problem with the fact some Council people never knew the $235,000 deficit was looming. If, in fact, the council members looked at their monthly financials provided in their notebooks at every monthly meeting, they would have seen it coming. Now, either they can’t read a financial statement or never understood what they were looking at, or maybe they just never read the financial statement at all. I spoke with four former council people who all said the monthly statements provided them, always showed the borough’s financial situation up to that time. All four always read them, and did ask questions about them as needed. They also found the statements to be accurate and up to date. At least one current councilperson says he saw the deficit looming, and asks why the rest didn’t?

I don’t know Ramona Overton well. But I know from speaking to those who worked with her and those who saw her work that she was and is extremely conscientious and competent. Did she make mistakes? Probably. but don’t we all? If she had made that many mistakes, why had she been there 15 years? On the shredding issue, she was shredding payroll documents with sensitive information on them. If in fact she was inappropriately shredding other records, don’t you think she would have quietly removed them from Borough Hall rather than stand at a shredder in a room where people could watch her? Like Ramona said to a reporter when asked about shredding documents, “I’m an accountant, that’s what accountants do.”

This Council is clearly “dysfunctional.” Despite all the efforts some council members have devoted to wasting employees’ time at Borough Hall, it’s obvious they don’t know what they are doing. There is poor communication between members, and there is divisiveness and an unhealthy cliquish attitude among several in the group. The ineptness of several on council have cost the Borough thousands, and now the Borough is talking about spending thousands more on another audit, when books are already audited as part of standard procedures.

There is talk about bringing back former Borough Manager John Lawver. Although he may be what some on Council believe is a “quick fix,” his behavior following the departure of Ford and Overton left a lot to be desired when he expressed “congratulations” in an email to the Mayor and Council on getting rid of the “two biggest problems at Borough Hall” just hours after the two resigned, and offering his services during the budget process. Obviously, his “people skills” need a great deal of honing.

Since the current Borough Council is at such a loss to understand how they are facing a deficit with another budget looming, perhaps they might seek out the assistance of former council people who were able to figure it out and plan a budget. If that isn’t feasible, use the money you planned to spend on a “second” unnecessary audit to hire a good local accounting firm, and let them figure it out for you. None of this is brain surgery. What you have are some people with big egos and who refuse to listen to common sense solutions to simple problems. Two highly qualified people were literally “hammered” to the point of resignation.

If you asked any of those council people who are critical of Ford or Overton if they had ever been told they were not doing their jobs, were put on notice, or warned they were not performing, those critics could provide nothing. The Gettysburg taxpayers deserve better than what you have representing your community and, in some cases, wasting your tax dollars. There is no leadership or cohesive oversight. What you have is an embarrassment.

I have no dog in this fight. I don’t live in Gettysburg any longer, but many of my good friends do, and I have loved this town since I was a child. I’ve worked and lived around here for more than 20 years. I believe, as Mayor Troxell says, “Gettysburg is the Best Small Town in America.” Those who love this town and live in it should seriously consider stepping up and serving it for a while. Gettysburg certainly deserves better representation than it is getting right now. Go to your next council meeting and demand these people resolve the issues or resign.

I will be back next week with a regular edition of “Around Town”. Have a great week and I’ll talk to you next Tuesday.

“Around Town” with Fred Snyder is published in the Gettysburg Times every Tuesday. Opinions expressed here are Snyder’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Contact Fred at [e-mail] or 334-1131, ext. 2850.

[Venter]

A few years back, there were supposed to be "Performance Reviews" done for Borough Employees.
It would have given the Borough a "Snapshot" of their employees at the time, and when something happens, at least they can refer to the "Review".

My guess is that they were NEVER DONE.
Does anyone know if there was such a review?

Chances are, these employees have no CLUE what their actual job descriptions are, and when they are deficient in their duties - or overstep their boundaries.

[gdaddy]

It is human nature to look at a situation and say that side is right and that side is wrong. I am afraid Fred did just that. He is absolutely right that micro managers were a huge problem. BUT that does not mean that Flo & Mona were good or competent. Flo 50 hours a week, doing what? Grants admin.? What about Scott Dellett, director of planning should he not be doing that? The financial piece by Mona? How many municipalities of 7500 have a manager, a director of planning, a code enforcement officer, a director of Finance,an assistant director of finance, and who knows how many more? I hear the folks already, but we have tourists!!!! So, how much Boro government goes into tourists? More police, but these folks just argue with the police, not run them. Bloated and dysfunctional, top to bottom. A pox on all their houses.