Council Policies & Procedures
The City of Paso of Robles has been shaken in past months over recent conflicts between members of the city council, and now between the city manager and the city. The Paso Robles’ city manager has filed a $2.275 million claim against the city alleging a council member has created such a hostile work environment that he had to take medical leave due to stress. That story can be found here: Paso Robles city manager files $2 million claim, alleging harassment from councilman.
Conflict on the city council and in the city is not new. The city has a Council Policies & Procedures that helps guide the city and the city council on how the council should properly operate and what is expected from the council, city staff, and the public.
In addition, in June of 2018 when there seemed to be increased conflict among government officials—”elected officials around San Luis Obispo County reached across political, ideological and geographic divides in pledging to uphold civil behavior in their civic affairs.” Here’s a June 2018 story describing the event: “Elected officials across SLO County pledge civility adopted a Code of Civility”.
For years now, I have been trying to get the city manager and the council to update the Council Policies & Procedures. The document itself requires regular reviews per section 7.1:
7.1 REVIEW OF POLICIES & PROCEDURES
The policies and procedures contained herein shall be reviewed whenever at least one member of the Council commences a new term pursuant to any General Election.
In addition, in June of 2018 the city council adopted the Code of Civility (shown in an image below) and directed staff to bring it back for approval as a resolution and to include it in an update of the Council Policies & Procedures. From what I can tell—and I’ve asked a number of times—this has never happened.
In public comments over the years, I have asked the city council and city manager to update the Council Policies & Procedures and to attach the Code of Civility as directed. That has never happened. An example of my comments from October 3, 2023 is shown in an image below.
So now, the city manager has filed a complaint and may sue the city because, as he claims, a council member was acting uncivil towards him. The city manager has filed a $2.275 million claim against the city, alleging a council member has created such a hostile work environment that he had to take medical leave due to stress.
Yet, despite my requests, the city manager has not updated the Council Policies & Procedures or attached the 2018 Code of Civility. It seems that putting this on the agenda for discussion might have been a smart first step to solving the city manager’s concerns. Certainly a good first step before filing a formal complaint or a lawsuit.
I might add too—that not one city council member has ever contacted me about my concerns and, from my knowledge, not one city council member has ever stepped up to make sure this happened. It has not been done to this day. We still have a 2017 version of the Council Policies & Procedures on the city website that does not include the Code of Civility. —— This is just one of many reasons why I’m running for city council.
