Mayor Rocky Gillis responds to the allegations
By Barb Pert Templeton
At an Aug. 18 meeting of the Algonac City Council Councilman Michael Bembas asked to add a closed session meeting to the agenda to review the conduct of a city employee. His request was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Davey.
“I’d rather discuss these things behind closed doors then in a public forum,” Bembas said.
Mayor Rocky Gillis reminded the council that adding an agenda item had to be a unanimous decision. When a vote was tallied Gillis and Councilmen Jake Skarbek and Ed Carter voted no, while Davey and Councilwomen Wendy Meldrum and Cathy Harris voted yes. The item was not added to the agenda.
The reasons offered for those casting no votes was the fact that the city attorney was not present.
In a phone interview on Aug. 19 Bembas expressed exasperation at the refusal of his fellow council members to hold a meeting to discuss issues at city hall. He noted it was the third time in as many weeks that a meeting was cancelled or just denied.
Bembas, who has served on city council for nearly a decade, went on to state many concerns regarding City Manager Artie Bryson (see Part 1 of this story on this website.)
Algonac Mayor Rocky Gillis.
He also shared concerns about how Mayor Rocky Gillis was responding or in some cases alleging he was not responding to issues happening in the city.
Blue Water Healthy Living sent some questions related to Bembas’ concerns to the mayor via email and these are his responses.
“I want to be careful because several of the allegations you have been given concern city employees and personnel matters,” Gillis said. “I do not believe it is appropriate for me to publicly discuss confidential employee information or repeat unverified allegations about employees or the city manager. I can, however, correct several statements regarding my actions and the process council has followed.”
Blue Water Healthy Living: Councilman Bembas claims he repeatedly brought concerns about Mr. Bryson to you and that you stalled or dismissed them.
Algonac Mayor Rocky Gillis: I disagree with that characterization. Councilman Bembas himself called for Mr. Bryson’s six-month evaluation, and council conducted that evaluation. The concerns now being characterized as serious misconduct were not presented during that evaluation.
Following that evaluation, the city attorney directed council to complete a more formal written evaluation using the same rating form and criteria for every council member. Six of seven council members completed that evaluation. Councilman Bembas was the only council member who declined to complete the evaluation, stating essentially that Mr. Bryson needed to be fired rather than rated.
That is not me stalling. That is me insisting that council follow a fair and documented process, particularly when someone’s employment and reputation are at stake.
BWHL: Councilman Bembas stated that the city clerk’s recent resignation was allegedly due to Mr. Bryson’s negative treatment but you just claimed she doesn’t like change and couldn’t adapt.
Gillis: Regarding the former clerk, I have never reduced her resignation simply to “she doesn’t like change.” I respect her years of service to the city. There were disagreements regarding management and changes in how certain city operations were being handled, but I am not going to publicly disclose or speculate about confidential personnel matters surrounding her resignation.
BWHL: It’s alleged that both the clerk and treasurer have reached out to you over the last few months seeking help with the problems at the city offices and you “blew them off.” (Bembas stated that he interviewed all four female employees at the city offices.)
Gillis: I categorically reject the statement that employees repeatedly came to me with complaints and that I simply “blew them off.” I am unaware of any complaint made to me that I intentionally ignored.
I did receive concerns from the former clerk. One involved Mr. Bryson preparing the budget without sufficient staff involvement. I spoke with him and told him that staff should be more involved in that process going forward.
Another concern involved Mr. Bryson taking an active role in the pump-station project. I did not consider the fact that the city manager was personally involved in a project intended to save the city a substantial amount of money, by itself, to constitute misconduct.
If someone is claiming that the treasurer or another employee made specific complaints to me that I ignored, then I would ask that the person identify what the complaint was, when it was made, and what they contend I failed to do. That can then be compared against what actually occurred.
What should not happen is for an elected official to be told secondhand that the mayor “did nothing,” accept that assertion as fact without ever asking the mayor what occurred, and then begin conducting an independent personnel investigation.
I am particularly concerned by the statement that an individual council member has personally “interviewed all four female city employees.” Algonac operates under a council-manager system. Individual council members are policymakers; they do not individually supervise city employees or operate their own personnel departments.
I have requested legal guidance regarding the appropriate boundaries between legitimate council oversight and an individual council member independently investigating city staff
BWHL: Did you know Mr. Bembas’s concerns extended beyond the evaluation, they were more about conduct and if so, why haven’t you supported his request to meet and address them?
Gillis: Yes, I am now well aware that Councilman Bembas believes there are issues beyond ordinary performance concerns. What I disagree with is the suggestion that simply alleging misconduct means council should immediately move toward termination.
The city manager is entitled to a fair process, and the city is entitled to make decisions based upon verified information rather than accusations.
I have not prevented council from addressing legitimate concerns. I have insisted that we address them in a legally appropriate and orderly manner. I am also following the advice of our city attorney, who has indicated that he would like to be present when council discusses these matters. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the potential legal and personnel implications for the city, I believe it would be irresponsible to disregard that advice and proceed without counsel present.
Parting statement:
“My responsibility as mayor is not to choose sides. It is to make sure the city follows its charter, personnel policies, council rules, and the advice of its attorney,” Gillis said. “That is what I intend to continue doing.
