Left in the drain: trust, respect

The garbage disposal ban leaves a residue of ill will between Raleigh City Council and staff

RALEIGH -- The city's brief flirtation with banning garbage disposals is over, but one of the lingering effects of the debacle is the eroded trust between City Council members and city staff.

This distrust is best exemplified by council member Rodger Koopman.

Koopman, in response to a question about city staff members, told a homeowners group this year that every organization has a small percentage of people considered "dead wood."

"It's nothing personal," Koopman said late last week. "My sense is we have some people on staff in leadership positions, or department head positions, that may be in over their heads."

The rift widened after the council passed the garbage disposal ban March 4 with little discussion, basing the decision largely on the recommendation of city staff members. Stung by public backlash, Koopman and council member Russ Stephenson complained that staffers didn't provide enough information about why Raleigh needed to be one of the few cities in the country with such a ban.

The council changed course April 15 and repealed the ordinance, which banned installing new garbage disposals and replacing broken ones.

It's rare for council members to criticize city staff publicly, and several of Koopman's colleagues say it's counterproductive.

"If people don't feel trusted and appreciated, they're going to leave," said council member Mary-Ann Baldwin, who puts the blame for the disposal ban solely on the council. "We could lose some of our very good department heads who don't want to be browbeaten."

City Manager Russell Allen, the main liaison to the council, declined to comment on relations between staff members and the council, saying he prefers to raise such issues in private with individual members.

But according to Koopman, Allen asked for a private meeting with him after learning of the dead wood comment.

The relationship between the council and city staff is designed to be symbiotic. Before the City Council votes on anything, staff members provide extensive background information on the issue, as well as a recommendation on what the council should do.

Mayor Charles Meeker said the onus is on council members to do their homework and then follow up with staff.

"If someone has additional questions, the proper approach is to ask the staff that they be briefed prior to a meeting," he said.

Koopman argues that a council member is part time and that staff members should be reaching out to him if they want him to trust their recommendations. "Please tell me where in my week I have time to read through 500 pages of details," he said.

The latest staff-backed project to come under scrutiny is the city's plan to pump treated wastewater across Raleigh. The $86 million project was approved unanimously last year and is strongly supported by the Public Utilities Department.

During a Public Works Committee meeting Wednesday, Public Utilities Director Dale Crisp attempted to respond to concerns about the project raised by Koopman and council member Russ Stephenson. But Stephenson said he wanted to talk to several experts who are not on the city staff before moving forward.

Council member Philip Isley said he's concerned that the council too often believes it knows better than city staff.

"Obviously, we have a whole lot of experts on the City Council," Isley said. "I don't think they like the answers they're getting, so they're going to find answers to suit their political agendas."