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<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt">Looks like the
Mayor’s support for the megaloads protest got the cops and other staff grumpy.
BL</FONT></FONT></H1>
<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"></FONT></FONT> </H1>
<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt">-------------------------
</FONT></FONT></H1>
<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt">Moscow city
employees have some unkind words </FONT></FONT></H1>
<P><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman">By JOEL MILLS of the Tribune | Posted:
Friday, April 13, 2012 12:00 am </FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">MOSCOW - Moscow officials defended themselves
Thursday against an anonymous survey of city employees that revealed widespread
disapproval of the mayor and, to a lesser degree, the city council.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">The survey - commissioned by the city's human
resources department - included 94 employees from all departments in Moscow
government, including police. The results were obtained through a public records
request by the Lewiston Tribune.</FONT>
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<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">In answer to a question about Mayor Nancy
Chaney's support of city employees, 31 percent rated it as "poor," and 27
percent as "fair." Twenty-eight percent rated her support as "good," 2 percent
as "excellent," and 12 percent answered "unknown."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">The city council fared better, with 14 percent
giving it a "poor" rating in terms of support, 24 percent "fair," 42 percent
"good," 6 percent "excellent," and 14 percent "unknown."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Chaney said she was "certainly disappointed" by
the results and the comments included in the survey.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"I'm trying to do the best job I can, and
clearly there's some ill will or dissatisfaction harbored by some city
employees," she said.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Some of the animosity is probably due to a lack
of personal communication with city employees, Chaney said, and the breakdown is
a byproduct of having a city government structure with a supervisor between the
mayor and rank-and-file workers.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"I don't interact with them on a day-to-day
basis," she said, noting she sometimes does check on employees in their various
locations around town. "I think the system is kind of broken, in terms of direct
communication, which is my usual style. But I don't have enough hours in my life
to do that."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Sixteen employees chose to make comments. They
included accusations that the mayor is "disconnected from the reality" of what
employees do, and that she looks down upon employees as "servants." (Spelling
and grammatical errors have been corrected in quoted comments.)</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"This mayor has brought a mean spirit and a
condescending attitude to the position," wrote one person. "She really only
cares about her own political future and agenda, even though she says
otherwise."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Chaney said such harsh comments should be taken
with a grain of salt.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"I cannot control the people who presume I'm a
ladder climber, or that I'm insincere, or that my motives are somehow
questionable," she said. "I can only do the best that I can do, and assure
people that I am genuine in my motives."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">While the survey was anonymous, it was clear
some comments were from police officers, especially those concerned with
Chaney's presence at the protests of megaloads of oil refinery equipment that
passed through Moscow over the past year.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"The mayor is political by nature, and her
antics are at odds with the department at times," one officer wrote. "She is
extremely liberal and she showed it on a couple of occasions during the
megaloads. This put her at odds with the department in trying to ensure the
safety of all involved."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Chaney said her attendance at the protests was
part of her duty to monitor such events in her city.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"As mayor, I think it's reasonable that I'm
witness to the activities that I also perceive as threatening to my community,
or to our planetary existence," she said, referencing her general opposition to
the extraction and use of fossil fuels.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">But she said she frequently stood with the
police during the protests, and actually had a moderating effect on the
sometimes-rowdy behavior of some protesters.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Other comments said Chaney pursues pet projects
that draw city employees away from the jobs they were hired to do. Chaney said
she suspects that may be a reaction to several of her initiatives, including the
introduction of healthy food into city facilities and the formation of a citizen
commission to fight poverty.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"It's not such a far-fetched idea," she said of
the healthy foods initiative. "Other cities have figured out how to do this. But
the pushback from the status quo is, 'Yeah, we have an employee wellness
committee, but we really don't want you to mess with our vending machines or
what we serve in our parks and rec facilities.' "</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">And she said her antipoverty work is far from a
pet project. "That's significant for our whole community, and government has a
role in that. But I get pushback for those sorts of things."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Fifteen employees made comments about the city
council, and many complained about a lack of support.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"They do not give a crap about staff," one
person wrote. "It is amazing how petty and immature the group of adults are that
run this city."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Another criticized councilor Wayne Krauss for
saying during a budget workshop last year that city employees should be happy to
have a job.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Krauss said the statement was taken out of
context.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"The comment that I made was that our biggest
goal was to not have to lay people off," during tight budget years, he said. "At
least the city of Moscow has been able to maintain an employee
base."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Some city employees are unhappy that they
haven't seen a raise in three years, Krauss said, but the city council is
unwilling to raise property taxes to fund any increases. He added that he thinks
Moscow has "tremendous employees who are very, very dedicated."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Chaney and City Supervisor Gary Riedner said the
survey was more negative than any they could remember. Riedner said the last one
was done in 2007, and that the city should conduct them more often to gauge
staff morale.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">He said one of his greatest concerns was so many
employees feel buried under their job responsibilities. While 52 percent of
employees rated their workload as "manageable," 39 percent called it "heavy,"
and 9 percent called it "impossible."</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">"Those are all things that make a difference to
how workplace morale is, and how much work you can get done," Riedner said of
the workload issue, describing it as a function of employees being asked to do
more while city resources have declined. "We're all having to incrementally
tighten our belts, and at the same time, people are demanding more
services."</FONT></P></DIV>
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<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">---</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV class=encrypted-content>
<P><EM><FONT face="Times New Roman">Mills may be contacted at </FONT><A
href="mailto:jmills@lmtribune.com"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">jmills@lmtribune.com</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> or (208)
883-0564.</FONT></EM></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>