I would like to address some of the opinions that appeared in your editorial on Sept. 7, 2022.
For context, I have 35 years of federal and state government working experience and over 20 years of supervisory experience.
I agree that Mt Pleasant should have someone who oversees the daily operations of the city. That is what all these issues start with—no supervision of the employees in city hall or other city departments.
Apparently, the mayor passes out titles to employees, as we discovered at the Aug. 23 meeting, when the city recorder stated she was the personnel administrator. I can just about guarantee that you will not find that job description in the city’s personnel manual, and even if the mayor did appoint the recorder as personnel administrator, he would have had to present that choice to the city council for approval.
I left the council at the end of 2005, and we did have a policy on employee appeals. If that was removed by another council without being replaced, shame on them, but if it is still in the manual, and the current administration did not follow it, they should carry the blame.
The fact that the administration issued two termination letters without giving either employee the option of appealing sets the city up for lawsuits. Once such a letter is issued, you don’t get to go back and change what you originally said in the one you gave the employees.
The next point I take issue with is that the city cannot have a policy that prohibits any citizen from running for public office. There are rules when you are running in a partisan race, but in non-partisan races, the law does not impose many regulations. During my eight years on the city council, the Utah League of Cities and Towns encouraged employees of the cities and towns to run for public office.
Last, I will address the statement about ethics and common sense. This current administration has its own ethical issues. On Aug 2, 2021, the mayor filed a fraudulent financial disclosure statement. On the morning of Aug. 3, I complained to the city recorder that the mayor could not claim $460.50 in anonymous donations. She indicated that he could. I referred her to the state code she provided me, which said candidates could only list one $50 anonymous donation per year. She stated she would have to research the question and get back to me.
I received a call from the recorder a couple of hours later stating that I was correct—he would have to amend his disclosure. The evening of Aug 3, I looked on the State of Utah election website and discovered the mayor had filed an amended statement where he listed four donations of $100 and one donation of $60.50.
Three of those donations were from his own children for $100.00 each. A resident of Mt. Pleasant had also donated $100.00. The last donation of $60.50 came from the public works director.
Having been a supervisor for federal and state jobs, common sense and ethics would tell me not to take monetary gifts from employees you are to supervise.
In conclusion, this administration is trying to bully people. I have heard reports that people who testified at the Aug 23 meeting are being harassed. In my opinion, if we had some leadership in the city administration, all this nonsense would not be going on.
Dan Simons
Mt Pleasant