All Posts Tagged With: "Adam Colby"
A quick perspective on the Colby recall
Last evening I attended, albeit briefly, a meeting to organize a recall effort against Adam Colby. Admitting up front I know hardly anything about his matter beyond what has been written in The World ( a source I do not consider wholly accurate or impartial ) and the letter sent to Colby by the BOC, I think there is a broader issue to consider.
Colby may well be the most misunderstood individual to ever hold public office. He may really be a strong, motivational leader inspiring excellence and pride and a sense of purpose to his department. Or he may truly be a tyrannical, dictatorial bully, thriving on intimidation and living out militaristic fantasies while at the same time disguising his incompetence and inability to handle the job by banging his fists and pointing his fingers.
His unhappy staff could really be lazy, ineffective loafers logging time waiting for a ‘fat’ retirement, with no personal gumption or pride in themselves or their jobs, or devoid of societal ethics urging them to provide the service to their fellow citizens they are paid to do. Or, and this is more likely, they really do take pride in a doing a good job because, frankly, most people do.
So far, the disagreement from both sides seems to be almost a class war. Elected vs hired. Management vs underlings. Officer vs enlisted. Union vs non-union. Hard working vs lazy. Status quo vs malcontent. (having been labeled a malcontent I rather like them)
Both sides, I believe do a disservice framing their complaints this way. Colby, in criticizing his workers is equally insulting all public employees and should rethink that strategy because Coos County has a lot of voting public employees.
Now I have worked for a couple of employers who meet the published definitions of Colby’s management style and can personally attest it is pure hell. Nevertheless, his staff or former staff probably aren’t going to gain much public sympathy labeling Colby as a tyrant because, unfortunately and wrongly in my opinion, many people simply don’t care how people are treated by an employer.
In the end, what ultimately matters to the citizens is if the job is being done. Regardless of the dynamic at play creating these problems there does appear to be a problem and, if so, the citizens and taxing districts are potentially the primary victims. The important question is are the taxing districts suffering or are assessments accurately reflecting the revenue they deserve? Is the Assessors office providing the service they are funded to provide?
Colby and the recall committee should both be gathering statistics to argue that it is or isn’t. That said, his former staff, with their years of experience, would seem to be the most qualified to gather and ‘assess’ the data needed to prove statistically to the citizens the full impact of the problems besetting the office.
The World misses the mark as usual in latest editorial
In what appears to be the third editorial calling for the recall of Adam Colby, The World sloppily defends a decision not to support an earlier recall effort against Kevin Stufflebean by misstating facts.
But a key difference separates the two recalls: clarity of purpose.
Stufflebean’s foes never articulated a reasonable al-ternative to the layoffs. Larry Van Elsberg, who led the recall, admitted in a World interview that he had no better solution to the department’s budget troubles.[Emphasis mine]
In light of Stufflebean’s very public and humiliating emails that reveal his incompetence and inability to manage the job, and The World’s own unprofessional participation in his implosion, I can see where they would like to pass the buck. Had The World really done its job during that time they would have known, as should Nikki Whitty, there was no budget problem!
Stufflebean tried to sell the public that the department was operating in the red for eight of the last ten years. This was not only untrue but would have been impossible and illegal if it had. Whitty, who was commissioner during all those ‘red’ years, should have had bells going off but instead fell for it hook, line and sinker, and so did The World. Neither Van Elsberg or anyone else could make judgments about the budget because public information was suddenly very difficult to obtain and explanations from Stufflebean were, in a word, nonsensical.
The road department layoff was not the purpose of the recall, although, it did motivate a lot of people to get involved. The committee to recall Stufflebean was called ‘Citizens for Fair and Open Government’. The push for the recall was because enough people knew then what everyone is starting to realize now, Stufflebean is not competent to manage public resource and provide for public safety.
Citizens for Fair and Open Government showed how the commissioners, Whitty, Stufflebean and John Griffith, technically complied with public meeting laws while at the same time obscuring their intentions from the public. Even The World reporter, along with the workers themselves, did not know there were going to be layoffs. Later Stufflebean, acting as road master, blamed the reporter for his staff not knowing he was laying them off. The recall was never about finding an alternative to a layoff, it was about letting reasonable people allow the public to participate in their own governance about critical matters like public safety.
Other papers covered this travesty and the obfuscation well enough that only those precincts relying predominantly on The World for information voted to keep him. Had The World done their job, the additional 1,800 votes needed would have spared Coos County these recent embarrassments thrust upon us and Sheriff Andy Jackson by Stufflebean.
As to their continual drumming for a recall of Colby, their opinion should have little sway this time after bungling the Stufflebean recall and late night email accusations. Nevertheless, they should stop trying to cover up their poor decision on one by passing it off on a failure to clarify the message – Citizens for Fair and Open Government wanted fair and open government. Hard to get any clearer than that.
The editorial is entitle Why Voters Should Care. The real question is why voters should care what The World thinks?
Second Colby recall meeting planned for next week
Ten or twelve people met tonight to discuss the recall of Coos County Assessor Adam Colby. From what I can glean from attendees the effort is still exploratory and not yet organized enough to take on the arduous task of gathering signatures. Another meeting is planned in a week.
Colby recall gains steam and Union comes out swinging
The AFSCME Courthouse Workers Union, in a member update, declare vindication for actions to rein in Coos County Assessor, Adam Colby.
Commissioners Demand Assessor Reform Abusive Management Style
Outside investigation vindicates unionRecently the Board of Commissioners sent Assessor Adam Colby a letter demanding he reform his abusive management style. The letter noted the County has spent over $200,000.00 dealing with workers compensation stress claims, tort claim notices and other expenses related to employee claims since Mr. Colby took office in January 2009.
The Commission also stripped Colby of his authority to hire, fire, promote, discipline or take “any employment related action against any employee” without approval of the Human Resources Director.
According to the letter an outside investigation documented what can only be described as a hostile work environment in the Assessor’s Office created by Mr. Colby.
An email from Colby counsel, Adam Gould points out that ORS 204.601, doesn’t give the BOC authority to enforce any demands or strip authority from the assessor. Gould says Colby intends “… to work closely with Human Resources on employee matters in the interests of good sportsmanship and workplace harmony.” Gould did not comment on the outside report.
Today, I heard from a former appraiser that some of Colby’s policies, in his opinion, made it impossible for staff to do their jobs properly. In particular, he mentioned a refusal on the part of Colby to allow staff to communicate with the Department of Revenue directly in order to work up valuation studies.
Those involved believe a recall will be successful despite the outcome of the Stufflebean effort. Unlike Stufflebean, this recall has the support, evidently, of the media, namely The World. They may have a point as Stufflebean lost most of the rural precincts where other papers provided better coverage of the issues surrounding the recall.
Had The World reported as vigorously it is very likely the commissioner would have lost his 6% margin and been out of a job. One can only wonder what the editor is thinking now in light of the current meltdown.
Rumblings of a recall for Colby – if successful who chooses interim assessor?
There are rumblings of a recall effort forming to remove Coos County Assessor, Adam Colby from office. Too early to release details but of concern will be timing. Should a recall be successful, and unlike during the Stufflebean recall, The World has called for a recall at least twice, then a replacement will be necessary. If my information is correct, the Coos County Commission will choose an interim assessor to complete Colby’s term.
Given we are in July already, assuming a recall committee can be mobilized quickly to gather signatures, it is possible, though improbable, Colby could be voted out before the end of the year. Consideration should be given to timing the recall election to allow a new BOC in January to pick the interim assessor, unless the recall group is comfortable with Nikki Whitty and Kevin Stufflebean having a hand in the choice.
Stufflebean has made challenger Andy Jackson’s job pretty easy with his erratic behavior and poor public safety decisions and terrible employee handling. There seems little doubt Sheriff Jackson will be Commissioner Jackson come this November.
Whitty’s challenger, Larry Van Elsberg, suggested earlier this spring how he would handle the Colby matter in a response to questions from The World.
The Board of Commissioners needs to look at these costs and see if they can be reduced through policy, training or better communications with employees and managers. I would rather see these funds spent towards county services than expensive outside attorney fees.
Until recently, due to news media and employee union concerns, the current Board of Commissioners seemed reluctant or silent in dealing with the excessive turnover of employees in the Assessor’s office. I realize they cannot discuss those issues publically, but from an outsider’s perspective, it seems they were slow to react or possibly condoned such actions.
In a June 29, 2010 letter from the BOC to Colby, expectations listed include ‘training’ and ‘communication’. Why the present BOC dynamic allowed the problems at the Assessor to continue for so long before taking this type of action isn’t clear. What is clear is that Whitty has repeatedly relied upon Stufflebean and his representations without doing her own research or pulling upon her oft touted experience. Two days after the lay off of twenty two road workers, Whitty couldn’t state why she voted to fire them.
So far, all efforts to obtain a copy of the analysis that maps out how this can be done as Whitty claims have failed and was not made a part of the county press release. Nor could Whitty under persistent grilling by road crew workers, Friday, explain her own decision instead deferring questions repeatedly to Kevin who is out of the office until Wednesday.
Many road workers questioned the commissioners decision to vote on this matter in advance of newly elected Bob Main taking office. Whitty claimed responsibility fearing Main, not having enough background information, would vote NO.
After days, if not weeks, of requests it was finally admitted the ‘analysis’ did not exist on paper but that didn’t stop Whitty from eschewing public safety and terminating twenty two family wage jobs despite an approved budget covering their employment and, like Stufflebean, not bothering to attend the swearing in of Commissioner Bob Main.
Notwithstanding that Whitty herself appears to have had no more information than was released to the press, her unilateral choice to exclude Main is even more confusing because she claims the interim roadmaster did not require board approval to terminate employment.
“Kevin didn’t have to bring that to the board of commissioners because the department head, which he technically is, has the authority to do that. But I was glad that he kept us in the loop,” said Whitty.
Nevertheless there was a rush for an unnecessary vote, in closed session, to terminate 22 employees and avoid putting the decision, “on Bob’s back”. Bob Main does not appreciate being excluded from the decision no matter the reasons, and does not believe the information provided to the board was adequate to make such a sweeping decision.
Whitty has voted pretty much in lockstep with Stufflebean all along. Stufflebean has publicly revealed his incompetence and lack of stability again and again which may be why she has been so silent of late. It seems that a word of support for exonerated Andy Jackson would be in order.
Regardless of Whitty’s poor judgment and willing dependence on a character like Stufflebean, Van Elsberg has his work cut out for him to oust the social butterfly this November. However, despite Stufflebean’s resentment for Van Elsberg for heading the recall attempt, the commissioner has done more to win Van Elsberg votes and has certainly cost Whitty votes, (remember his reference to the ‘pipeline fiasco’? Thank you, Kevin!)
Colby counsel address BOC saying Colby “cast in a false light”
Coos County Assessor Adam Colby and lawyer, Roger Gould addressed concerns expressed by the Board of Commissioners today accusing the board saying, “…you have cast Mr Colby in a false light”. Read the letter BOC Colby letter
Gould objected to the ‘tenor’ of the letter and scolded the board for using non-specific and possibly pejorative terms like “many”, “multiple” or “several”. By not being specific about numbers, counsel argued, something that happened as few as three times was perceived by the public as ‘many’ or ‘several’.
The letter lists legal expenses ‘in excess of $200,000′ for workers compensation stress claims. Gould said Colby could not be held responsible for what the insurance chose to pay out (I am seriously paraphrasing here).
The letter questions Colby’s management skills, calling him ‘rigid and controlling’ and says Colby requires some staff to get permission before using the restroom and timing the duration of restroom breaks. Colby is accused of being a dictatorial, demeaning, irrational bully and of intimidation. He is accused of clenching his fists and banging them against his desk.
The letter lists five expectations, one requirement and one reservation. Gould, citing ORS 204.601, amongst others, advises that Colby is empowered by the electorate to run his department as he sees fit. Essentially, they are requesting the department, which according to Colby, is now tip top, be left alone from board interference.
Mary Loiselle, an appraiser who left the department abruptly, June 22, spoke afterward saying she left out concerns for her ‘health and safety’. Loiselle’s name came up during the Gould presentation as an employee who had run for the office of commission and had missed a lot of time prior to leaving because of her campaign. Loiselle disputed this, saying she never took off time to campaign and everyone who met her husband filling in for her at campaign events, would likely agree.
To wrap it up, Colby’s response to the BOC letter, (which I must admit I found to be a bit of posturing on the part of the board), is to ignore it.
Bring the popcorn, next week’s BOC meeting likely to be very entertaining
An obscure little tidbit on the BOC agenda for the July 7, 2010, Coos County Board of Commissioners meeting “B. Discussion re: Letter from BOC- Assessor” could spell some heated debate next week.
The beleaguered assessors office has lost yet another employee. On June 22, at about 12:00, Mary Loiselle left her position with the Coos County Assessor without notice. There is no clue whether the agenda item is directly related to Loiselle’s departure but sources indicate Adam Colby is responding to action or communication from the BOC.
The assessor’s presentation may not be the only hot item on the agenda next week. Given the recent revelation that Commissioner Stufflebean’s wild accusations against the Sheriff proved baseless expect some kickback from that as well. Don’t forget the popcorn, cameras, recorders, sustenance…. this could be a long but eventful public hearing.
World editorial calls for Assessor Adam Colby recall
Despite being cold to the idea of recalling Coos County Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean last year The World is now calling for the recall of Adam Colby. In the Stufflebean matter there was ample evidence of what was wrong and why the recall was brought against him. The paper always spun it as only having to do with the road department layoffs. In fact, the recall was motivated by the layoffs but was entirely about public process and transparency. Despite narrowly surviving the recall, Stufflebean’s low vote count in Tuesday’s election supports that most citizens got the message and agreed, even if The World did not.
Not that I disagree the assessor needs to go, I find it interesting the paper supports a recall while admitting, unlike the Stufflebean matter, little is known about what is wrong in the office.
County Assessor Adam Colby, 16 months into a four-year term, has become a liability to taxpayers and an obstacle to his staff’s effectiveness. It’s time to think about a recall.
This suggestion may seem drastic. Thanks to employee confidentiality and the county’s liability concerns, taxpayers know little about the problems in the assessor’s office.
Some small factoids. Commissioner Nikki Whitty is the liaison to the assessor’s office. Adam Colby and the ‘G-Man’, Steve Allen, were frequent lunch partners when Allen was still Human Resources Director. Allen resigned to go into private industry. Today is his last day.
Maybe the paper should launch a ‘please resign for the good of the county’ campaign.
Coos County Assessor loses ANOTHER employee
This time, reports say the employee was fired. From The World
Assessor Adam Colby reportedly fired a key employee Wednesday morning.
Later in the day, county commissioners called an emergency executive session with only two hours notice to consult with their attorney.
Colby fired Christina Crabill, who has worked in the office since January 2009, assessor’s employee K.C. Roach said. Colby quickly promoted Crabill to office manager and touted the Iraq War veteran as one of his best employees, raising questions about the abrupt termination.
Colby who has as many tort claims against as toes has been steeped in controversy since taking office losing several experienced staff. This may explain why he hasn’t bothered to answer an email I sent him asking to explain the tax inequity between the top ten tax payers in Coos County and the rest of us. To my knowledge, he hasn’t answered David Cay Johnston either. Colby is an elected official and he owes the public an explanation.
Why do the commissioners continue to tolerate Colby’s obvious inability to manage a staff? Whitty is the liaison to the Assessor’s office, we should ask her.
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