COMMENTARY Without Honesty, There Can Be No Trust, And Without Trust, There Can Be No Open And Transparent City Government

Press Statement by City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea, October 1, 2014

Council Accepts Stilwell's Resignation

"Our council has agreed to accept the resignation of Jason Stilwell as our city administrator. This is a decision that Jason Stilwell and our council arrived at together as the best means to move the city forward and to allow Jason Stilwell to take on a new challenge.

"Mr. Stilwell has agreed to work with our interim City Administrator to help with the transition."

Press Statement by Jason Burnett, Mayor, Carmel by the Sea, October 1, 2014

Council Accepts Stilwell's Resignation

Praises council focus and Stilwell's management for financially sound and well-managed city.

"Our council has agreed to accept the resignation of Jason Stilwell as our city administrator. This is a decision that Jason and our council arrived at together as the best means to move the city forward and to allow Jason to take on a new challenge.

"Over the past two years we have advanced Carmel by the Sea in every possible manner. Our city today is more financially sound and better managed, with accountability to Carmel taxpayers. Priority projects have been completed, and important projects are either underway or planned and scheduled to begin.

"We have arrived at this position thanks to an active council, strong management by Mr. Stilwell and city employees.

"Mr. Stilwell has agreed to continue to work with the city as we begin a search for a new city administrator."

Council Accepts Stilwell's Resignation 10-01-14

Press Statement by City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea, October 1, 2014

Council Accepts Stilwell's Resignation

Press Statement by Jason Burnett, Mayor, Carmel by the Sea, October 1, 2014

Council Accepts Stilwell's Resignation

Asked about his departure from Carmel, Stilwell said, “I worked with the council to implement an effective organization, and we mutually agreed it was time to change directions last fall.” He added that “it’s a challenge with a lot of the misinformation out there,” when asked how he might respond to potential critics. “It comes with being a public official I suppose nowadays.”

Source: A new San Luis Obispo IT temporary staffer has drawn criticism
BY COLIN RIGLEY, New Times, January 21, 2015

Burnett’s letter to the grand jury said that “recent events with the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s organization have called into question the adequacy of our policies, internal controls and safety checks,” and asked the grand jury to figure out what went wrong.

Source: County grand jury investigating Stilwell era
What went wrong, and why?
By PAUL MILLER, The Carmel Pine Cone, January 30, 2015, 1A & 13A

“While Stilwell’s hires did raise eyebrows because they smacked of nepotism, he lost his job because he was unnecessarily secretive, signed numerous questionable contracts, spent ridiculous sums on outside law firms, fired people for no good reason, and did a bunch of other bizarre things which there is no need to repeat here.”

Source: Editorial Wrong and wrongerer, Paul Miller, The Carmel Pine Cone, January 23, 2015, 24A

 How, then, does a rational, reasonable individual reconcile the seemingly contradictory statements of the Press Statement by Jason Burnett, Mayor, Carmel by the Sea, October 1, 2014, specifically “Praises council focus and Stilwell's management for financially sound and well-managed city” and Mayor Jason Burnett’s letter to the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury stating that “recent events with the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s organization have called into question the adequacy of our policies, internal controls and safety checks,” asking the grand jury to figure out what went wrong, and Jason Stilwell’s statement “I worked with the council to implement an effective organization” and editor Paul Miller’s assertion that Jason Stilwell “lost his job because he was unnecessarily secretive, signed numerous questionable contracts, spent ridiculous sums on outside law firms, fired people for no good reason, and did a bunch of other bizarre things which there is no need to repeat here?” If the mayor, representing the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, cannot be honest with the public regarding the forced “voluntary resignation” of then-City Administrator Jason Stilwell, then how can the public trust him to be honest about anything else pertaining to city government now and in the future?

Written & Published by L. A. Paterson