Outstanding editorial by Mr. Mike Anthony in today's Call (please click here to read it.)
Well can we say history repeats itself Ladies and Gentlemen? We had weekly comments reference the past Mayor which we vowed to stop (and stop them we did, he was voted out,) but it would appear that we are back in the 'limelight' again thanks to the new C/A.
Now less you think I am mad about the editorial let me assure you nothing is further from the truth. In fact I too have experienced a certain resistance to getting information via FOIA form since Ms. Eastman arrived on the scene.
Now contrary to popular belief the position of C/A is not all that hard to do unless your a person who for whatever reason refuses to delegate authority. In the case of Ms. Eastman that has not, and apparently will not be done ever if she has her way.
It would seem that she is a bit more than concerned that someone, anyone in this City will gain knowledge about anything. In fact she has a memo out (I have a copy) to ALL employees telling them they are not allowed to converse with ANY Alderman! It states that if they do so it will be considered an act of 'gross insubordination,' and will be cause for immediate dismissal, (Some say it may have been rescinded but even if so, the real question is why was it ever issued?)
Wonderful, but please remember to do their job effectively they MUST be able to talk to whomever they wish for input, and consultation. I have lived here for 43 years as by now you know, and never in all my time here have I ever seen or heard of a C/A who has been requested to resign by citizens from the floor of the Board meeting! Well in her short tenure we have seen it twice, and Lord knows how many more times it will happen.
Mistakes happen, in this case we have not so much of a mistake but rather a conflict of personalities and management styles. I have said it before and it bears repeating here, there is no shame in resigning once you realize that your not in the right slot, the only shame is if you try to push a bad position and give the aurora of being a Marie Antwonette type in a community that is used to a Barbra Bush.
I am reminded here of the immortal words of the famed Groucho Marx who said, "I would never be a member of any club that would have me as a member!"
In any case we shall see what lies in the future, but please Ms. Eastman, keep us off 'the sky line' and let's move the City forward as that is what you were hired to do, remember?
Tom Ford
NO. 997
Now less you think I am mad about the editorial let me assure you nothing is further from the truth. In fact I too have experienced a certain resistance to getting information via FOIA form since Ms. Eastman arrived on the scene.
Now contrary to popular belief the position of C/A is not all that hard to do unless your a person who for whatever reason refuses to delegate authority. In the case of Ms. Eastman that has not, and apparently will not be done ever if she has her way.
It would seem that she is a bit more than concerned that someone, anyone in this City will gain knowledge about anything. In fact she has a memo out (I have a copy) to ALL employees telling them they are not allowed to converse with ANY Alderman! It states that if they do so it will be considered an act of 'gross insubordination,' and will be cause for immediate dismissal, (Some say it may have been rescinded but even if so, the real question is why was it ever issued?)
Wonderful, but please remember to do their job effectively they MUST be able to talk to whomever they wish for input, and consultation. I have lived here for 43 years as by now you know, and never in all my time here have I ever seen or heard of a C/A who has been requested to resign by citizens from the floor of the Board meeting! Well in her short tenure we have seen it twice, and Lord knows how many more times it will happen.
Mistakes happen, in this case we have not so much of a mistake but rather a conflict of personalities and management styles. I have said it before and it bears repeating here, there is no shame in resigning once you realize that your not in the right slot, the only shame is if you try to push a bad position and give the aurora of being a Marie Antwonette type in a community that is used to a Barbra Bush.
I am reminded here of the immortal words of the famed Groucho Marx who said, "I would never be a member of any club that would have me as a member!"
In any case we shall see what lies in the future, but please Ms. Eastman, keep us off 'the sky line' and let's move the City forward as that is what you were hired to do, remember?
Tom Ford
NO. 997
posted by Crestwood Independent at 17:27
52 Comments:
Tom,
Does the calls for resignations include calls that she be fired? If so and if you didn t include the last Aldernermanic
meeting the total would be three.
If however that is considered under a different designation the score would be two and one...
Please clarify.
8:10 PM Blogger:I did not hear about the call that she be fired (I doubt that will happen,) but if that's true then it would be two and one for a total of three.
I guess the natives are a bit more restless than I thought. I must be getting old (hell, I am old) as I should have known about that.
Tom Ford
The City Administrator needs to decide if she is a city administrator or an employee advocate.
While I value and appreciate Crestwood's employees, the city is not run and does not exist for their benefit alone.
10:03 AM Blogger: The City Administrator should decide to move on to bigger and better things, in a City that appreciates her management style.
Mistakes and personality conflicts happen, we do things differently than she would like to see. We should consider a change soon for the good of the City and all it's valued employees.
Tom Ford
Did the employees of Crestwood sign, as a part of their terms employment, an agreement stating they will give their 1st Amendment rights upon orders from the C/A?
That's what I would like to see.
Tim Truebood
Tim,
Ms. Eastman is using the language in Section 3.5(c) of the Charter to justify her policy of restricting communication between staff and elected officials (and members of the media).
In addition to being a self-serving interpretation of the Charter, it assumes an authority that is simply not there. The purpose of Sec. 3.5(c) is to address the issue of how aldermen are to "deal with" staff under the city administrator's supervision; more specifically, it defines how requests elected officials make of staff are to be handled. The language makes clear that the city administrator is the gatekeeper for any requests elected officials make of staff.
Where Ms. Eastman takes liberties with this language is in her assumption that this section also applies to staff communication with elected officials and media. This section very clearly addresses communication FROM the elected officials TO the staff, but makes no mention of how (or what) staff is to communicate with
elected officials (or others).
Ms. Eastman's restrictive policy is an attempt to control the flow of information in and out of city hall. However, this policy runs counter to the idea that the business of the city is, by its very nature, the public's business. Only those subjects that are legally protected (real estate deals, employee performance, etc.) can be kept confidential.
Martha Duchild
Well done Martha, well done!!
It is very clear that Ms. Eastman's actions are not supported by the Charter of the City of Crestwood, the State of Missouri Sun Shine law, the Constitution of the United States.
Three out of three is not good.
Tim,
As long as taxes aren't raised on the good people of Crestwood..she can bunt the entire season away.Nobody cares.
"Mistakes and personality conflicts happen, we do things differently than she would like to see. We should consider a change soon for the good of the City and all it's valued employees."
Who is "we"? The vocal minority?
The C/A has been employed by our city for less than 4 months, a bit absurd to determine that "we" want her out in that short of a time period.
The way "we" do things here in this town have really made us the shining star of St. Louis county, wouldn't "we" say? Perhaps "we" should listen to someone who does want to do things differently! Perhaps the way things have been done by "we" have gotten us into this horrible mess. Perhaps "we" should be grateful to have a C/A that is, in the words of the mayor, "far and away the most qualified candidate for this position.".
Perhaps "we" shouldn't label our site "independent", when "we" clearly are not.
Bill Haverford
Crestwood Resident for 48 year.
3;40 PM Blogger: Well Bill isn't it wonderful that you and I get to disagree without rancor?
The 'WE' in this case is not just me it would appear, but others who have written their comments as well.
And as for calling this something else, well my friend when you pay for it, write it, and run it, you can call it whatever you want to, neat, A?
Tom Ford
Fair enough, Tom. But wouldn't you say it's rather misleading to call this site "independent", posing as a news source when in fact it's an opinion blog?
Also, can we classify the "we" as you, Tim and Martha? And not the people of Crestwood?
It certainly is wonderful that we can completely disagree, else it might just become an echo chamber here at the ol' independent!
Bill Haverford
Crestwood Resident for 48 years
4:36 PM Blogger: Bill the name "independent" is no more than that, a name which I chose when I started this Blog. (The St. Louis Post Dispatch never "dispatched" anything that I know of, get it?)
Anyone who knows me will be glad to tell you that, yes, this is an opinion Blog written by me with one neat twist. That being you and everyone else who plays by the rules can post as well.
Now as to who I have heard from, well that's confidential as it would be if YOU told me something , and I promised not to reveal the source. One thing I will tell you is that your list is way to short, trust me.
Echo? nope as I will not play the game of back and forth too long, it just bores the heck out of all of us, so we move on.
In any case, welcome to the Blog, and I know all of us will look forward to your comments, so keep them coming.
Tom Ford
Tom,
You can!t always be right you know.....
Baseballs a funny game....
Who would have thought the cards would win the world series?
6:34 PM Blogger: Correct my friend, but hey, I am right a heck of a lot more often than our local weather prognosticators, no?
I would say my 'batting average' isn't that bad so far.
Tom Ford
Rumor has surfaced that the City Administrator was terminated Tuesday evening. Can anyone confirm this?
8.15... You will have to wait for the 'vote' to be released ..they have 72 hours to do that.....(sunshine law...etc.) or you could call her and ask.
Wow !!,
If this is true..would they have to buy out her contract?
If so I hope they followed all the correct procedures...too..
If it is true ..I hope the 'Chief'... wasn't involved in this one....
8:15 AM Blogger, ET AL: Let's wait for the Mayor and the Board to give us the real facts and hold the conjecture till then,sound right to you?
Tom Ford
I'll hold my conjecture for as long as it's required....or until it starts to hurt.
9;12 Am Blogger: Good for you my friend. If it becomes too much for you pain wise just let us know please.
We won't be able to help, but we can "feel your pain" with you!
Tom Ford
BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN CHAMBERS
ONE DETJEN DRIVE
CRESTWOOD, MISSOURI 63126
Friday, March 16, 2012
4:30 P.M. SPECIAL MEETING
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call: Duncan Knarr Duchild Beezley
Wallach Pickel Miguel Foote
3. Vote to Adjourn to Closed Session – Section 610.021 (1) and (3) Legal and
Personnel Matters
4. Adjournment
Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.
ANYONE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WISHING TO ATTEND, PLEASE PHONE 729-4700 SO THAT THE CITY MAY MAKE
APPROPRIATE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR YOU.
Note: Due to ongoing City business, all meeting agendas should be considered
Probably a 'fish fry...'
Still no word from city officials? She has been "unavailable" for over a week. I can only hope that they board will update us soon.
Still no word from city officials? She has been "unavailable" for over a week. I can only hope that they board will update us soon.
Funny... she gets hauled over the coals for not paying any attention to the sunshine act...and her corporate masters haven't said a word about her ' missing.'. Gotta love it....not as I say but as I do....the people of crestwood deserve an explanation about this matter.......they are after all the employees here,.
6:59 PM Blogger: before you go off half cocked be advised that a "personnel matter" is not covered by the sunshine law.
That said, we will find out in good time, so please let's just wait till the facts can be brought out.
In today's Ways and means Committee meeting Fire Chief Karl Kessler was introduced as the "acting administrator?," so the time may be closer than we think.
Tom Ford
Any vote taken in closed session must be released within 72 hours. Fyi
6:15 PM Blogger: Well if so that would tell me that no vote was taken, right?
Just sit tight and wait for the news to be given to us. Whatever we think happened has a high probability of not being right anyway, so why the rush?
Trust me, when you hit 70 and above you realize that there are no emergency save critical health problems, so.............
All things in their good time my friend.
Tom Ford
I bet she gets a lot sweeter deal than the cop she fired...and that's no lie.
Well it is official... http://sunsethills-crestwood.patch.com/articles/crestwood-city-administrator-no-longer-employed-by-city
Sounds to me like we now has two City Administrators on the payroll . As a resident I don't enjoy paying someone to do nothing......
I think the Mayor is too embarrased right now to talk about how much money this has (and will) cost the city of Crestwood...If they had to pay out her contract.. I'd say at least $120.000.00
5:26 and 6:22 AM Bloggers: May I suggest we wait and see what the heck actually happened before we worry about the outcome here?
All we know so far is Ms. Eastman has left, we also know the mayor and the Board did not terminate her contract, so lets wait for the facts to come out, please.
Tom Ford
If she's not terminated she's still has a contract that must be honored by the city of Crestwood. Her salary is $98,000 per year.
Until the contract is terminated she will collect $ 1884.61 per week.
For every hour she doesn't work for Crestwood she is payed $47.22 per hour... based on a 8 hour day.
7:08 AM Blogger: Well if she "abandoned her position" without being terminated, she may well have voided her contract.
Back to the let's wait for the real story before we start writing virtual checks.
Tom Ford
Ms. Eastman has been absent for over 2 weeks now. At this point the board should have some sort of explanation for us.ki
The explaination is quite simple ..they still need her to perform some function that requires her to be a employee..virtual or not.
Until then I'm sure the contractual money isn't immaginary.
11:01 Am Blogger: All evidence to the contrary. If she left, she did it on her own accord, so what do we need?
Tom Ford
She will be needed at Officer's Kuhn's civil service board hearing.
3:47 PM Blogger: She will be subpoenaed along with anyone else who has knowledge of the facts.
Until then she resigned, and last time I looked you can't force someone to hang around after they quit.
Face it this is a strange as we have ever seen it get in Crestwood.
Tom ford
Yes ..that's it! .the board probably doesn ' t have the Power to soepena her ..or some other legal requirement...
...( correct me if I'm wrong anyone)...so I'd
guess she's still on the payroll ( working on her resume at home) . $47.11 an hour...makes having a city car chump change doesn' t it,?..
4:25 PM Blogger: The Board does have the power to do it, will they is the question as I believe she will be a "hostile witness" at best given all that's happened.
I am not so sure she is collecting anything at this point, and as far as the car goes, no it does not pale in comparison.
Why don't you submit a FOIA form for Mr. Eckrich car expenses with ALL the mileage, gasoline, oil, maintenance, depreciation and insurance on it?
You do that and come back to us and tell us why he should have a car to begin with, much less the expenses being paid by us.
Neat trick as gasoline is $4.00 dollars per gallon now and NOBODY PAYS ANY ATTENTION TO WHERE HE GOES OR HOW MUCH HE SPENDS BY GOING THERE.
By the way, why doesn't that vehicle have City of Crestwood, Public Works Department on it? Every other Crestwood City vehicle has
Crestwood markings as they should.
I guess you know it's counted as a Crestwood asset and "WE PAID FOR IT," so if you disagree, please explain to us why it should not be marked.
I really doubt we need a "under cover" Public Works car, so let's do it right for a change and get it identified. Also let's have Mr. Eckrich turn in a daily mileage log so we know where our vehicle has been, and why.
Tom Ford
The civil service board may "call" witnesses, but does not have the authority to subpoena anyone.
5:15 PM Blogger: They won't be sending the subpoenas, the lawyers will.
Tom Ford
Only in a court of law...looks to me like the civil board has no powers to make any one attend....Doesn't sound very fair to me.
7:45 PM Blogger: welcome to the state of reality. The Civil Service Board recommends to the Board of Alderman, and so it goes.
Why do you think that the economic development commission that Dan Tennison touts so much is a flop? Well the truth is they have no power to grant anything to a dog house moving to Crestwood!
What we have here is layer upon layer of committees that really have no say at all, but recommend none the less.
By the way, what ever happened to my answer reference the "take home car giveaway?"
Tom Ford
Oh .....the car should be considered as income per Irs guide lines (I think )and the usage of mileage should be kept on a log.Please consult a tax attorney.or go to the aldermanic meeting Tuesday and State your case.I look forward to seeing you there.
Tom- Do you know if Carol Wagner's replacement has been appointed to the civil board? Is that the hold up on the hearing?
Even by Crestwood standards. ....I'd say 16 weeks (and holding) could be defined as a 'hold up'.
9;25 AM Blogger: I have no idea on the Wagner replacement, but I would say is way past due for what ever reason.
Tom Ford
8:55 A Blogger: Good point on the IRS guide lines. I am going to file a FOIA form for the 1099 from Crestwood, and if there isn't one, we will go from there.
Tom Ford
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