Regarding staff turnover under City Manager Bret Prebula's leadership, former City Clerk Janet Calderon offered concerning insights during public comments at the March 19th City Council meeting. Calderon resigned after 9 1/2 years due to the "toxic and hostile work environment" at City Hall that she attributed to a "lack of leadership" from the past two city managers. She indicated this was the sole reason for her departure, not any issues with the Clayton community or City Council.
Calderon's revealing statements about the work culture help explain the high staff turnover under Prebula. This likely won't be the last word from her on the matter.
Tamara Steiner and Holly Tillman requested an investigation into the City Council, but their concerns appear unfounded based solely on Janet's isolated comments.
However, broader questions have been raised about Bret's management approach that warrant further examination, such as why he was allowed to bring his full team despite skipping standard hiring protocols like background checks and drug testing.
The California Government Code mandates that cities must publicize job openings at least 10 days before the application deadline, typically by posting on the city website, advertising in local media, or listing on employment sites. However, staff have indicated the city failed to publicize recent openings through any of these required channels, violating state law. The reasons for this apparent disregard of the legal requirements remain unclear.
Additionally, Bret has threatened at public forums that he would leave City Hall if his plans were not implemented verbatim - which seems less like collaborative leadership and more like a coercive ultimatum.
Before dismissing employee complaints, the City Council should investigate the workplace culture Bret has cultivated, including whether it promotes hostility or toxicity. This examination could reveal opportunities to improve leadership, transparency, and accountability.
It’s a known fact. The city manager's primary duty is to carry out the elected officials' policies and oversee daily operations through planning, engineering, public safety, budgeting, and other city departments. In most cases, the city manager also hires key personnel like police and fire chiefs, finance and public works directors, and other department heads.
These employees all report to the city manager, not the city council or mayor. If the council overstepped its bounds, Bret should have promptly raised the issue with the appropriate council members and resolved it immediately. It is healthy for City Council members to know city staff, provided they do not try to direct their work.
The staffing issues at City Hall were caused solely by Bret. Since these matters involve confidential personnel information, the reasons behind the turnover will likely remain unknown. However, given that the staff were under Bret's leadership, it seems clear that he struggled to effectively manage his team.
Additionally, Bret's and Holly's comments about the staff being overworked due to unnecessary demands and requests from the council and public are unfounded. Staff members have informed me that an outside company completed all research and public information requests. I agree, the requests would have been unnecessary had Bret answered our questions when first asked and did not push back, but he chose to dig in.
Research indicates that while most city managers are technically prepared, they lack an understanding of the organization's culture and rarely have detailed strategies for transitioning into the role.
In our view, city managers should spend their first six months learning the city's history and culture rather than immediately instituting changes, which risks failure without established loyalty and trust that require time to develop.
In conclusion, Tamara Steiner, The Clayton Pioneer, and several other individuals seem to be unfairly targeting those with dissenting views without facts. There appears to be no room for balanced discussion, only one-sided arguments.
This black-and-white approach to reporting is problematic, as quality journalism requires factual, unbiased coverage of issues.
After 20-plus years one would think Tamara, and her small group of supporters, would have learned this early on.
The United States is a country founded on free speech. However, the local newspaper should avoid using its platform to unfairly support a particular political party disguised as a nonprofit. The group seems especially upset about Bret Prebula leaving, which raises questions about their motives.
Clayton remains an excellent place to live despite this turmoil. Still, residents deserve transparency about how the conflict started and whether it indicates larger issues at City Hall or with hired management styles.
If we listen, compromise, and refocus on shared goals, Clayton's future can remain bright. The infighting must end. Enough is enough!
We appreciate you for reading this article.
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