Since assuming the position of mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in April 2000, Sue McCloud has disbanded key commissions and purposely left vacant key employee director positions.
Disbanded:
Community & Cultural Commission (Repealed in 2004)
Carmel-by-the-Sea Art Board (Members Preemptively Disbanded)
Community Traffic Safety Commission (Repealed by Ord. 2006-04)
Positions Left Vacant (Post Early Retirement):
Assistant City Administrator
Community & Cultural Director
Public Works Director
Library Director
City Forester
Additionally, the City Administrator has proposed these “job changes,” as follows:
Community Services Manager Christie Miller will also be responsible for building maintenance as of 1 August 2007. “Building maintenance specialist” John Hanson will become “building inspector” and the city will contract with an outside firm to perform work Hanson is unable to perform, such as “checking blueprints.”
City Clerk Heidi Burch will also be “deputy city administrator.”
COMMENTS:
Mayor Sue McCloud’s city management incompetence, particularly with regard to city finance, public works, forestry and historic preservation, her predilection for secret, closed government and her need to be in total control of all aspects of city government decision-making characterize Mayor McCloud’s seven year tenure as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The end result has been and is presently an inefficient and ineffective city government which fails to serve the city and the residents well.
6 comments:
Tell me about it. This unscrupulous woman was probably incompetent as a CIA employee. Not that she didn't have plenty of company.
Her multiple oral contradictory statements on finance and historic law show her to be incompetent in city business. But she is much more than that. She is an egocentric, malevolent person who only cares about herself and her small cadre of yes people.
Now that Carmel is bearing the brunt of the secret culture of the CIA, we see firsthand the consequences of such a culture on democracy, open government and Carmelites who by and large do not know very much about their city.
The weakening of Carmel's government over the last 6-7 years has been perhaps the biggest scandal to besmirch the McCloud administrations. Forcing out a competent Assistant City Administrator while retaining a City Administrator incapable of handling the normal responsibilities of his own office not to mention running most of the city's other departments made no sense. Keeping an Acting City Forester on the payroll for years is simply illegal. Forcing out an extremely competent Library Director, who was widely respected across the political and social spectrum, was stupid. The results of leaving the Public Works Department without competent direction are obvious to anyone who notices how badly the department's responsibilities are being handled.
Except for one thing. If Mayor McCloud could get rid of all the leaders on the city staff who knew what they were doing there would be no one to oppose her interference and micromanagement. For McCloud weakening Carmel's goverment and staff (the spirit of Carmel's staff members seems broken now) so she could micromanage, however inadequately, was a victory. For the residents and businesses of Carmel it has been a real loss.
Christy Miller may be doing an adequate job as Community Services Manager but just because she has been able to hold onto her job by not disagreeing with Mayor McCloud's poor management of the city doesn't qualify Miller to be put in charge of building maintenance. John Hanson's promotion to building inspector is much more frightening. He has no background apparently that would allow him to do an even adequate job. If it is necessary to hire a contractor to check blueprints, a basic part of Hanson's new job, how can he do it. And what will keep the contractor on the straight and narrow with little or no oversight and lots of pressure from various sources to do a bad job. City Clerk Heidi Burch must also be a "yes woman" for Sue McCloud. How else could she have gotten the job of deputy city administrator? How does experience as a city clerk prepare her for such responsibilities? Someone, who can administer Carmel is badly needed. The former assistant city administrator was able to mitigate many of the inadequacies of the city administrator but was forced out. Unfortunately for Carmel, there is no indication that Burch will be able to fill those shoes.
The above reads like a horror story. WAKE UP CARMELITES! Before there ceases to be a unique and special and green Carmel for the people who live here!
In my humble opinion the position of a City Forester and Library Director are quite crucial for a city like Carmel or any other place for that matter.
What would we do without taking care of our trees and without well run libraries?
Nature and our search for knowledge through institutions like public libraries sustain us.
Shame on you Ms. McCloud!
I mete John Hanson for the first time in August 2007 when he was giving a final inspection for an issued permit. John said he intends to contract back with Tim Merony to review blue prints. Tim may have retired as far as his planning department job goes, but apparently will remain with the police department and will still be around. John also led me to believe that he has been the building inspector for three to four years already. Was he fibbing?
As far as Christie Miller becoming a "building maintenance specialist", I think she hangs onto her job because of her VERY close relationship with the City Administrator and because she is a nice person, not because of some competance or expertise.
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