Employee/Public Relations

By David A Walker

It has been three years since the discovery that the former Manager embezzled at least three hundred thousand dollars from the sanitary district. The employees who suspected the wrongdoing reported it directly to the District Attorneys office fearing reprisals from the District Board if they had reported it to them. Following the revelations, the District Board assured both its customers and employees that steps would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future and foster an atmosphere of openness in which employees would be able to present such information to the Board without fear of retaliation. In spite of these assurances the District Board has itself engaged in acts which have done little to bolster public confidence, why was an employee secretly paid $25,000 to settle claims of harassment and mismanagement? Why did board members accept gifts from the manager they were supposed to be overseeing? Why was a board member awarded an employment contract in known violation of the law? Why was it necessary for a member of the public to sue the district in order to rectify this situation? The District Board has never answered these questions along with many others.

If elected I will strive to ensure that the districts closed sessions meetings Board are kept to an absolute minimum and that the Brown Act is properly utilized. The Brown Act was never intended to allow secret settlements such as that entered into by the District Board.

I will encourage my fellow board members to form, and seek to serve on, an Employee Relations Committee to assure communication between the employees and the Board. It is imperative that the Board is able to hear from ALL employees and not just a select few.