This past Sunday, I suggested to Williams Lake Mayor Cook & the City of WL CAO that a 'Letter of Appreciation' be sent to both Wildwood/150 Mile Fire Departments for their timely assistance to back up our local Fire Department with the fire at the former Williams Inn & the 'chlorine incident' at the Sam Ketchum Pool
Read the above blog post with the response from City of WL CAO Brian Carruthers from Feb 26th at 8:58pm here
It was my opinion that my blog readers' wanted to hear what his response to my request was.
In the meantime - I have not replied to his email of Sunday evening as there was no point of doing so and nothing positive or good would have been gained, from my perspective
If he had simply said "Thanks, we'll take your suggestion under advisement", there would have not been an issue and this is confirmed by one reader who commented on Sunday's blog post this past Monday evening. In the course of my discussions of various items with other local governments - this is the usual response I receive, regardless from School District #27, the City of Quesnel or the Cariboo Regional District.
However, the City of WL CAO elected to send me the following yesterday morning (with copies to all members of Williams Lake City Council & City of Williams Lake Management Team & the local RCMP Detachment Commander)
Steve,
I am extremely disappointed to see my recent correspondence with you posted on your blog. Anyone who hides behind a computer screen and throws barbs at people without ‘looking them in the eye’ has no credibility with me. I do not believe you have any credentials as a Chief Administrative Officer or any other capacity in local government administration nor have you been successful in getting elected as either a City Councillor or CRD Director. I appreciate you have opinions about how the City is operated and governed. However, your method of communicating your opinions and criticism is cowardly. I have been nothing but respectful to you over the years, in spite of some of the less than flattering attacks and statements you have made about me on your blog and in the media. I have no doubt you will post this message on your blog and all the power to you. From this point on, please pass on any comments, concerns or suggestions you may have to one of our elected officials. I have no interest in hearing them.
I profoundly regret his last email to me however I respect & acknowledge his right to do so.
I'm not sure why he felt the need to copy City of WL Senior Staff on this email but I understand and appreciate the need to copy all members of WL Council on the email to me. In addition, I fail to see the need to refer to previous civic elections while commenting on the merits or demerits of suggesting a course of action to the City of Williams Lake elected and appointed officials
Some readers' have expressed sympathy with Mr. Carruthers' frustration but agree a simple 'Thank You' would have sufficed while others express support of Mr. Carruthers' email to me of Sunday, Feb 26th at 8:58pm and I had deserved the response of Mr. Carruthers.
In the meantime, Williams Lake City Councillor SPS Rathor has contacted me and indicates that he'll be requesting a meeting of Williams Lake Council to discuss this issue
Finally - despite this hiccup, I still plan to take an active interest in municipal affairs in Williams Lake in addition to the rest of the Cariboo-Chilcotin region with the elected officials, but this shows how much the 'power of the word' can have with individuals.... either rightly or wrongly and it shows how careful you have to be in phrasing 'suggestions' to others and whether or not it is worth the effort
SBF
13 comments:
I'm disappointed, but not surprised, by his "response". I use the term response loosely - it was more of an attack. I appreciate that if he had made plans to do what you were suggesting already, he may have been slightly frustrated, BUT, as an official, he should have both more tact and more patience then he shows.
Would he have made it this personal kind of attack against anyone that made the suggestion? Or just against you because you are more involved? That's what I'm curious about.
Very good points, Daniel.
I wholeheartedly agree that the correspondence from the CAO could and should have been handled better. The City has someone on staff who is paid to make everything sound pretty, maybe it should have gone through him or her, first?
"I" wouldn't dare "suggest" that, however. I am more timid than Steve Forseth is apparently. I would be very bothered by a similar attack from the CAO.
In my opinion, it sounds like Steve Forseth hit a nerve and the CAO reacted instead of taking some time to stop, think and then act. Amateur or immature?
You're kidding right?!? Of course this was directed at Steve and given Steve's history of attacking Mr. Carruthers and City staff, second guessing every decision and generally trying to interfere in pretty much everything the City does, I'd say it was well past due.
Leave it to Rathor, who is on hs own island, to try and make something of it. Good luck with that!
There's on old saying Steve...show respect to others and others will show respect for you...I suggest you start respecting people if you want it as many of your boogs are definitely disrespectful.
Way past due. Steve is a coward who snipes at everything the City does every day. I don't see him trying to make a productive difference in the community. Does he volunteer? Try to make anyone's life better? No. He just sits on his computer all day telling other people how to do their jobs and approving or disapproving of what they do. I'd blast him too.
Let's not forget, Steve told the CAO how to write a letter. That is insulting. And Steve didn't even bother to thank anyone else involved in the fire, like SAR which is collecting donations. No, he thought the priority was to tell the CAO how to write a letter to out of town firefighters.
Steve is too afraid to talk to anybody at City Hall personally. He prefers to blast people from his computer. That is cowardly.
I have also read Steve compliment Mr Carruthers in his blog.
I think what is being lost here is that the CAO should not be engaging in this type of play-ground antics. His comments were direct and personal where as Steve's are usually not well thought out and address process and procedure. Brian did the same thing with the former finance director. He used a public former to attack someone who he knew was weaker or in a vulnerable position.
What is ironic is that the CAO did exactly what he accused Steve of doing; hid behind his computer. I do beleive that Brian already had Mayor and Council's support to send the email as he never does anything on his own. Afterall there is safety in numbers and he lines up his posse well before the action.
I do not understand why staff was cc'd or Council or the RCMP. It was a personal thing between him and Steve. Steve's blog merely posted what Brian had said to him. Under the FOIA anyone has access to that. Brian made the mistake of intially lashing out at Steve for making a dumb suggestion. Why so thin skinned Brian. You as our leader should not be so sensitive.
I agree with the previous blogger who said it was disappointing . I am embarrassed by this and I am not even involved. If any other CAO in the province saw this they would be laughing at ours.
Brians needs to stay above all this. Mayor and Council as much as you value Brian you need to realize he is flawed and not above reproach. In closing I agree that in his position Mr. Carruthers was way out of line and should use his Communications Officer who would probably have used more tact.
First of all.
GOVERNMENT WORKS FOR US.......YES ALL OF YOU!! Suck it up.
If you dont like feet, you dont work in a shoe store.
Christ, walk in my shoes for a day and you will see attacking!
You are public servants, your annoyance of the tax payers voice is typical, non the less suck it up Brian, Staff, and elected members.
Just because the majority of voters are drones, and believe everything they hear via slander and coffee house/water cooler muttering is true. That doesnt mean that many, and I mean MANY people are not happy to see someone voicing our opinions about the cities on going BS. We are the ppl that sign your checks, and pay the most taxes......yep thats us!
I take a pay cut to employ people, maybe the self righteous at the top should do the same.
Why exactly are we paying a CAO such a large salary, when he has to refer to council/accountants daily. What a drain, on our pocket.
Go Steve Go, Who cares if your not part of the "planning to make a plan, to formally make a planning meeting, about the plan" type of politics. It is what it is!
Annoy who you want, say what you want and DEMAND respect and answer's. Your the reason people actually know what is happening locally. You are not a coward. You use a medium that is CLEARLY effective and works. The city seems to forget that we are busy, doing non city stuff like creating jobs, protecting our property, and paying over inflated taxes. When the lil guy is trying to figure out to pay the next tax hand-out in line and the city can afford to employ less than professional persons we have chaos!
I'm sick and tired of listening to the same problems. I'm starting to think that ppl on social assistance produce more than the leaches that work in government........actually yes, thats my new stance. GET A JOB, or do what your paid for in a professional manner and stop complaining about it!`
Katherine says:
I have noticed that those who are in support of Mr. Carruthers also attack Steve personally or condone verbal abuse towards him.
I have been following this blog for almost a year and support the comment made above in that where Steve can come across as annoying he is never mean spirited.
The CAO's comments I can not say the same on. Why did he throw in the fact that Steve could not get elected...how was that constructive and appropriate. Under the Freedom of Information Act any email, letter etc is available to the public. Maybe a concerned citizen should request what other emails etc Mr. Carruthers has been sending out as a means to intimidate or humiliate citizens.
Steve I do not often agree with your content but I do agree that you do not filter information as does the "local" paper. You incite discussion and that is a good thing for society.
Brian...shame on you for your mean spiritedness. You have the option of not reading Steve's blog, this isn't your kingdom where you can eliminate anyone who challenges you or suggests something you do not like.
If I were Steve I wouldn't talk to City Hall staff either, by Brian Carruthers ccing all staff he has set up an environment of hostility towards Steve...this isn't the first time either..that is not a secret to anyone in town.
Let's let this die down now so the CAO can gather some dignity and Steve can evaluate how he drafts things.
Calling Steve a coward for writing a blog while hiding behind a computer is ludicrous! It is what a "blogger" does Brian and it is an effective medium to voice opinions. It's 2012 afterall and standing on a mountain yelling the news just don't cut it anymore. If Steve is a coward for doing this are other bloggers covering restaurants, hotels or whatever cowards as well? How about TV hosts such as Mercer, Daley or Colbert? Cowards as well? Or is just anyone willing to stand up and ask questions of this totally disfunctional city hall a coward who will be torn apart and humiliated so that no one else speaks out. Seen this happen all to often lately. How about a little democracy where everyone can speak their mind without persecution? In my opinion Steve is one of the few who is brave as all of us on here under "anonymous" are too afraid of the political and personal backlash for supporting Steve. Maybe not in every keystroke but in what he generaly does and sets out to do. I also know Steve does volunteer his time to the commuity in other direct ways and to assume otherwise is uninformed nonsense. I am sorry for this Steve, you are a valued member of this city and you do not deserve this. I am sorry that I am also one of the actual cowards for not putting my name to this for fear of more political backlash. Is this democracy?
Don't get discouraged, Steve.
Don't ever stop what you're doing.
The community needs you, whether they understand it or not. Who else speaks up on behalf of the average resident in the Cariboo? I am not aware of any one.
I do not always agree with you, but I do respect your tenacity and self-motivated dedication to what you believe in.
As a tax payer, I appreciate that you remind "them" to dot their i's and cross their t's. In some cases, I believe you force "them" to learn and adhere to proper protocol.
What you're doing is very obviously working. I don't think you need to send the emails, just blog it. They can't read that fast enough, apparently.
Sending your email to the RCMP appears to be a scare tactic. I am not aware of a suggestion such as yours was, being illegal. I find it ironic that he/they chose to bully you on a national anti-bullying day.
Other that that, I find it distasteful, classless, and immature. (no surprise) I feel that way more often than ever when I read or see what our local government is spouting and promoting these days.
Great use of taxpayers dollars Brian. Copy all staff so they can waste time reading this non issue.
P.L. says:
Good for you Steve for staying on the high road.
I have been away and just returned this morning. A friend suggested I read this blog issue. He wouldn't tell me why as he wanted my unbiased opinion on what I thought.
I work for a government entity and upon reading this my comments are:
RCMP pulled into this!!
A mass email!!!
Inappropriate, retaliatory language and comments!!!
This has the awful feel of intimidation and abuse of power. Mr. Carruthers actions should not be condone on any level and he should receive some form of sanctions and discipline for doing this.
I have heard the he loses his temper easily and will publicly yell at citizens. There was also the Cindy Lapointe ordeal; maybe a million people in the world are not wrong.
I am very nervous about living in what is starting to look a bit like a police state and the CAO is the dictator.
As someone suggested maybe the emails and comments delivered by the CAO should be circulated to other CAO's on what not to do. Or used as an example in Government educational courses on how not to conduct yourself in public regardless of what position you hold but inparticular if you are suppose to be the person who provides direction and leadership to Mayor, Council and staff.
Wow...scary.....there is my unbiased opinion.
Thanks all for your comments - truly appreciated and your advice will be heeded
But one said I should review my original remarks to the City of WL's CAO which I have and admit that I could have phrased my request in a different way that would not have been intrepreted as a "order or directive" rather than a "suggestion" and in fact, I could have simply asked if a letter to 150 Mile/Wildwood Fire Departments to thank them for assisting the local WL Fire Department was being drafted
Again - thanks for the "conversation"...
Steve
The fact remains Steve that you dont offer little pieces of advise, you come off as arrogant as if you should be doing the job and the people you advise are puppets. I have heard you speak and the way you turn phrases can seem very, to be honest, abrasive, as if your word should hold any more merit than anyone elses. Steve, it would matter a bit more if you chose your words and comments more wisely, but the bigger point here is that is if your behavior and comments were phrased better and less "picking" you might have had a chance at getting elected. While im not defending Mr. Carruthers as i wasnt there and im sure theres alot more to the story, Steve, you have a long history with taking pot shots when unnecessary as well as pointing out very irrelevant issues and trying to make them bigger than what they need to be.
Not a negative, or a positive Steve, just an opinion.....
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