On August 29, the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Action Team – a group of city employees that has 13 members, with all departments represented – sent a memo to City Manager Josué Salmerón. The memo was titled, “Addressing Adverse Behavior from Council Members During Council Meetings.” In opening, the team said they were writing regarding “the continued pattern of disrespectful and verbally abusive behavior exhibited by Councilmember Rodney Roberts,” which, they say, was “again” observed during the council meeting on August 12 and the council retreat on August 14. Those discussions related to engine replacement and maintenance of a city K-9 vehicle, for which the city was quoted $16,000. The memo from the JEDI group alleges that Roberts spoke in “a disrespectful, demeaning and abusive manner to Deputy Chief Tim White and about the city’s Public Works Department.”
During the August 12 meeting Roberts repeatedly said of the Sport Chevrolet dealership, “They’ll sell you anything that you’ll buy.” Roberts argued that a new engine could be bought for $4,000 and installed by Public Works mechanics, who could learn to install the engine if they didn’t know how to: “Get a book and teach yourself as you do and let them expand their knowledge a little bit. Let your mechanics learn,” he said. He called the recommended replacement cost a “rip-off” and said “Chevrolet is taking advantage of you, of us, of the taxpayer.” Roberts also said, “My problem is that Sport Chevrolet will tell you anything and they’ll charge you anything. And if you’re dumb enough to take that, then you are.”
The JEDI team says Roberts’ statements “disparaged the skills of the Public Works Department and implied that our colleagues were ‘dumb’ for accepting the vendor’s quote.” The memo also complains that “similar behavior amongst councilmembers has been ongoing for some time and employees have previously been instructed to simply tolerate it rather than address it directly.” They also point to Greenbelt’s Community Pledge and the city’s DEI goals, and that “the Tribesy Audit highlights how such behavior negatively impacts employee morale, creativity and full participation in the workplace.” Tolerating this behavior will undermine the city’s efforts to build an inclusive and supportive environment, states the memo.
The five recommended actions from the JEDI team are:
1. Employees should be empowered to address the behavior in real time using constructive dialogue skills, rather than being expected to endure it.
2. As a reminder to council, read Section 6, Item 2b and Item 8 in the Standing Rules. (see below).
3. The City Council should censure councilmember Roberts for his ongoing inappropriate conduct. Additionally, moving forward the City Council should censure any councilmember or meeting attendee for inappropriate conduct such as the behavior described.
4. Senior city management must take an active role in intervening and preventing this behavior in council meetings and other settings to ensure a safe and respectful work environment for all staff.
5. All councilmembers should participate in dialogue training to improve communication skills and foster respectful interactions.
The call to censure Roberts was placed on the agenda for the October 28 council meeting but postponed to the November 18 meeting, as requested by Roberts, who wanted time to consult with lawyers, and some residents who wanted to know the context of the allegations of unbecoming behavior against Roberts (see article, “Council to Consider Alleged Unbecoming Conduct of Roberts“).
(For more about the JEDI Action Team and its creation see the May 9 issue.)
Standing Rules for The City Council
VI. Duties and Privileges of Members
2. b. Members of Council shall not raise personnel matters pertaining to alleged improper performance or conduct of any city employee(s) or Council appointee(s) at a public Council meeting. Any concerns about the conduct or performance of any city employee(s) or Council appointee(s) shall be brought to the attention of the City Manager, or a closed session of Council may be requested to discuss the personnel matter.
8. Disorderly Conduct or Violation of Rules
A member of Council indulging in any language or conduct unbecoming a Councilmember shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, in such case, the offending member shall lose the floor and shall not proceed without the approval of a majority of members present. The Council may, by a vote of not fewer than six members, expel a member from a meeting for disorderly conduct or the violation of Council rules.