Former City Employee Speaks Out on City Manager Issue
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At the top of the organizational chart of the City, it reads “Voters of Fernley.” I disagree with this-it should read “CITIZENS of Fernley.” It is YOU who sits at the top of the pyramid. It doesn’t matter whether or not you vote. It is YOU who must declare you are satisfied with your government, or that there needs to be change. Talk is cheap, and action or lack thereof-speaks volumes.
There is an old saying that one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. There are only a few bad apples in your City Hall. Unfortunately, they are in high positions of leadership or are cronies thereof. There are also local business people who have much to gain financially by preserving your current leadership.
The rest of your dedicated City employees-the people who clean your parks and post your water payments and process your building permits-just try to keep their heads down and stay out of the way. Many of them are encouraged to deal with time on and off the City clock with a degree of paranoia. Be careful what you say at all times, but of course, someone can always spread a rumor that is taken as fact, so does it REALLY matter whether you say anything at all? How do you think that attitude affects the ability of your City employees to excel, much less survive?
Do you know how many times I have been asked why most everyone who works for the City seems unhappy and/or mad? Truth is you can have the best people, the best directors, the best budget, the nicest building. It doesn’t matter if the people at the top are working harder to preserve themselves than to serve our citizens. They have to work hard at making everyone else look bad so they can look good. That takes a lot of time, effort, and creativity. They don’t let you know when something is wrong until they can create an entire laundry list, with the list being so rumor laden, petty and off the mark that you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Conjecture, innuendo, gossip, rumor, guessing, personal agendas, bias, self-serving statements, and unfounded accusations of impropriety are the rules of the day. This has paralyzed your City government so the initiatives and partnerships that would truly change this community for the better never have a chance, like Downtown Development and the Community Enhancement Program. Perhaps paralyzing City government IS the agenda. That way, they can continue to collect their paychecks with minimal work and under cover of smokescreens instead of addressing the important issues at hand.
From my experience, city administration sees the world as follows: efficiency and organization, a tidy desk, and everything filed in its place must mean you don’t have anything to do. Nothing good can happen unless it is their idea and they can take credit. They do not grasp what the concept of true and meaningful “public input” is, and ultimately decide to do whatever they want to regardless of your opinion. If you are an employee, and you ask for a meeting to discuss something that is unclear or vague, you are chastised and ridiculed. I have been “accused” of being proactive and forward thinking. Funny, those qualities have always been considered as positive ones in every other place I have worked. Worst of all is when the City Manager asks your boss and others, repeatedly and consistently throughout your tenure, what does she do all day?
Mr. Bacock, my door was always open if you wanted to know what I did all day. We had a job duty list for planning. I could have shown you that a majority of planning duties do not involve going to a Planning Commission or City Council meeting. I rarely took a lunch hour or a break. I personally handled 171 planning files during my tenure, not including spending half or all of my day on call for customers at the counter, attending project meetings, answering emails, returning phone calls, signing business license approvals, site visits, representing our department and the city at committee meetings, assisting in coordinating volunteers and resources for 6 weeks after the flood event, Downtown Development, Community Development Block Grants (including being named to the state committee to represent Fernley), creating concepts and developing partnerships for the Community Enhancement Program, and assisting the Director and Senior Planner. None of this could be done by just me-my fellow staff, the many community partners and citizens I worked with, and the unfailing support of Mr. Gilbert all contributed to everything accomplished.
Mr. Bacock, if you really cared about the people of Fernley, you could have come to more than two of the over 40 meetings or events I attended or organized as a City employee including Downtown Development (you came to one meeting for 5 minutes and left), Fernley Community Coalition, Safe Routes to School, Community Development Block Grants, Community Clean Ups (you came to one clean up), Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield program informational meeting, the Northern Nevada Development Authority business incubator meetings, the kick off event for the15 Days of Kindness, the Fernley Community Coalition Affordable Housing Task Force, and more.
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Mr. Bacock, you put downtown “revitalization” as a goal of your own evaluation, didn’t attend one entire meeting, and recommended removing every penny of funding from two years‘worth of budgets. The only funding option: A federal appropriations request through a lobbyist which is a long shot at best. You placed a competitive bid process for ambulance services in your goals for your evaluation, yet two hours later at the same city council meeting, you presented a 3 year contract to continue the existing ambulance service-no bidding had occurred. Can you say contradiction? But who’s counting?
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The City had an opportunity to add a position to the Planning Department. At that time, our case load was up over 40% from the previous year. Of course that has dropped dramatically since June due to the scare tactics of extraordinary impact fees. This position would have been concentrating on badly needed community and economic development initiatives. Most of the cost was donated by the Nevada Microenterprise Initiative ($20,000, with only $6,000 needed from the City.) Mr. Bacock refused to place it in the budget to even be considered. Yes, folks, the City said no to a $20,000 donation. This is not City Council’s fault as they never saw the proposed budgets from each department, only the final recommendations. They must be accountable for not knowing enough to ask the question.
Yet, the city could afford a costly addition to Mr. Bacock’s staff (approximately $60,000 with benefits), fireworks ($13,500), event funds ($20,000) and “donations” to economic development agencies and groups that have slim to no presence in Fernley ($8,500.) How about asking how much has been spent on “consultants” for the impact fees (now a dead issue), strategic planning (for the city and Arts and Culture Commission, etc.) and more? What about $100,000 to our lobbyist, paid at a time when federal funds are being cut to the quick? These are the types of items that most sensible governments cut first. They are called “non-essential services.”
Mr. Bacock, you also came to the city-sponsored flood clean up on January 19. While you complemented me and Mr. Gilbert on how smoothly the event ran in an email, you later claimed I was not “assigned” to the task of coordinating volunteers after the flood. It was your staff that sent out press releases and added information to the web site with my name and contact information. I was also responsible for calculating
volunteer hours and donated resources as a FEMA match per your request. I took hundreds of phone calls from volunteers and flood victims matching needs to resources. Many of those calls were transferred directly from your staff.
Mr. Bacock, how long can you keep your place on the throne with the loyal few circling their horses to keep you there for their own selfish purposes? You are sadly mistaking self preservation for loyalty. If City Council asks you to leave, who do you think will follow you out the door out of loyalty, or because they are fired?
Since I am an eternal optimist, I believe things can change. I believe that people can change. I know who I worked for while I was here. I worked for the amazing people who live here. You can sit up there in a row as our City Council or Planning Commission, but you don’t know what it is like at Fernley City Hall unless you are in the building on a daily basis. City Council and Directors, if you care about how our residents feel, read the Community Surveys. Have regular meetings in your wards with your constituents. Find out what their interests are, and represent them accordingly.
If you want to know what the employees think, ask for the current communication policy that makes everything go through the City Manager to be abolished. This WAS THE POLICY make no mistake. Mr. Bacock has chastised prior City Council in writing for speaking to staff directly and visa versa. Directors have instructed their staff to never speak directly with City Council or Mr. Bacock. Mr. Bacock will tell you that City Council may “inquire” of staff, but not “direct” them. Well, if you “inquire” about anything, it is a question, a “directive”-to answer a question, to make a copy, to take action. The two go hand in hand. I wonder if the current City employees think the policy has REALLY changed. Anyone telling you morale is not low is out of touch with reality, or is simply lying.
This limitation in communication has now been increased in its scope to anything being placed on a public meeting agenda for action and discussion requiring approval by the City Manager first. What became of freedom of speech? At city hall there is no right to freedom of expression? There is no right to be heard by the City Council? All of it is in the hands of one person who can tell you no.
Elected officials, you are not hearing the truth. I know some of you are trying to get to it, and you are to be commended for it. It is not all sunshine and happiness, but how can you fix anything by ignoring or failing to act upon what you do not want to hear?
This message comes to you with only the best intentions. You can fix this. You must if you care about the present and future of this city. I care enough about all of you to write it. Ask hard questions of your City Council candidates. Make sure they understand how government works, and how it can be improved. VOTE. Become involved-come to the meetings; learn about the issues, and how they affect you. Demand accountability, and do not support candidates who believe otherwise. Ask if they have the courage to make the changes that will make Fernley a better place. If you want change, it will only come if you-the citizens of Fernley-ask for it. If you don’t, no one else will.
I believe in karma-what goes around comes around. And I have seen it enough times in my life to know it is true. Although it never occurred to me until right before I resigned, and after numerous citizens suggested that Terry Gilbert replace Mr. Bacock, I honestly can’t think of anything better that could happen for this community. Let that rumbling turn into a roar.
For the record, I am not disgruntled although I know the label will be used. I am discontented, which means “showing or experiencing dissatisfaction.” All people deserve satisfaction-in their lives, in their careers, and in their government. I voluntarily left my position, along with other talented and educated people who could no longer represent and support administration and their actions. I think I am better described as grateful to have been a part of your lives. The first time I came to Fernley all I could see were possibilities. I see how things could be, and I want that for all of the good people of Fernley. I hope you also want that for yourselves, stop talking, and start doing.
Everyone in this community deserves the best. You deserve leadership that lifts this community and its City employees. You deserve leadership that rewards excellence, not sees it as a threat. You deserve leadership that believes in its employees and its residents to have the answers. You deserve a democracy, not a dictatorship.
Rochelle Brassard
Former Associate Planner and Downtown Development
Coordinator
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