TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chris Zapata, City Manager RE: Sam Taylor – Formal Complaint versus City Manager and Community Development Director DATE: September 27, 2017 This memo is to respond to the September 14th communication to Mayor and Council from Sam Taylor. A complaint was lodged regarding myself and Community Development Director Cynthia Battenberg. The Taylor communication asks for three items:
I have reviewed over 50 pages of information related to this matter including:
DISCUSSION Ethics are fundamental to the profession of City Manager. In California, formal ethics training is requirement for the position of City Manager. City records will show that I have completed all ethics training required by the city and state law including this past year. The Taylor communication states their agreement that Ms. Battenberg did not violate City Policy. They suggest policy changes to Section 405 – City Manager Powers and Duties to create a more stringent policy and state the City of San Leandro Ethics and Discipline policies are “lacking” requirements mandated by California State law. There is also a statement in their communication that “private neighbor issues” are not their concern. Policy Changes requested by the Taylors include a Whistle Blower Ordinance, an Independent Public Ethics Board and Conflict of Interest Policy. The same communication alleges blackmail and extortion as well as a history of Building Code Violations in Ms. Battenberg’s Oakland home. It also suggests that I violated City Codes by delegating this matter. Further that neither the Human Resources Manager or Assistant City Manager “have any background or expertise in conducting an internal affair investigation”. It requests the Council consider reforms and alleged violations carefully. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS
0 Comments
|