If Scrima has a problem, he should have used his veto
If Waukesha Mayor Jeff Scrima still has a problem with the action that the Common Council took to remove the mayor from any supervisory role over the City Administrator, then he should have used his veto at the time.
Or the mayor could explain why at least one member of the Common Council felt it was necessary to remove him from any supervisory role over Luther in order to avoid a lawsuit.
After complaints from Luther about the way Scrima allegedly treated her, the Common Council, on a unanimous vote last spring, took away Scrima’s power to oversee Luther’s work. She now reports to Ybarra.
The council heard Luther’s complaints in a closed session, and aldermen have not revealed the details. But then-Ald. Peggy Bull, who attended the session, says, “When they heard what he [Scrima] had said and done, it was clear he could no longer be her supervisor. … We possibly prevented a lawsuit involving inappropriate actions the mayor may have taken toward Lori Luther.”
And if Scrima continues on this path, he may still open the city to a lawsuit for creating a hostile working environment.
Waukesha residents have waited patiently for the mayor to grow up. Hopefully, he’ll grow up before he does any real damage.
(I also find it interesting Scrima is throwing this out there right after he was criticized for not being fully committed to the city and letting his other pursuits interfere with his job as mayor. My favorite part of that discussion was when Scrima said how busy he was working on the “Welcome to Waukesha” signs. Did we elect a mayor or a decorator?)
Unfortunately, we’re at time when we’re expecting real cuts in state aid to Waukesha. Perhaps a good gauge of where the situation stands is the number of people who are relieved Luther was not offered the job out of town, while nobody is even asking the mayor about the budget.
“Hopefully, he’ll grow up before he does any real damage.”
I’m not optimistic.
Well now Mr. Wigderson, how do you really feel about your city administrator’s salary increases and benefit additions in relation to the Walker BRB?
“Unfortunately, we’re at time when we’re expecting real cuts in state aid to Waukesha. Perhaps a good gauge of where the situation stands is the number of people who are relieved Luther was not offered the job out of town, while nobody is even asking the mayor about the budget.”
She interviews for another job, is rejected by another community, returns to her current employer and requests a compounded raise and income protection insurance. Why? Is she getting ready for another job interview and the council is afraid the world will stop if the administrator leaves? As I read the story, 2 other candidates for the Columbia job were not hired either. If they returned to their community and didn’t ask for a raise, they’re probably humble enough to be glad to have a job. In my opinion, there’s potentially 2 candidates available for a vacant administrators position should it occur. I’m sure they’re fully qualified to handle budget composition.
Your council is truly a progressive bunch. Very unusual for being the seat of Waukesha County. Government liberals are not in vogue right now.
Jeff Christensen Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
I highly doubt the people running the City of Waukesha are liberal, you’d think I’d know about such a thing.
Here’s the thing about Waukesha’s City Administrator, that new deal just SAVED the City of Waukesha $5054 per year. That’s not opinion, that’s fact: http://waukesha.patch.com/articles/common-council-approves-city-administrator-contract-revisions-with-pay-increase-benefit-reduction
Maybe even Ms Luther’s critics (including the Mayor) should realize that she appears to be good at her job and she improves the standard we should come to expect from local government.