Yarde weighs in on city management problems

Businessman Craig Yarde weighed in recently with a couple of interesting comments on another post. I want to make sure everyone sees them, so here they are:

First time to the Bristol Blog.
I wish everyone would use their real names rather than anonymous. I tried to post a comment a few days ago using my name Craig Yarde but it never went through. Maybe because I didn't know my URL, whatever that is. So I'll try anonymous and see if it makes it.
My main reason I like a city manager or COO is because I feel the last four Mayors who I know personally did not manage their twenty one direct reports. One Mayor told me he spent half his week hearing citizens complaints. We all know the ceremonial responsibilities and meetings the Mayor has to perform under the city charter. I would say a Mayor has a sixty hour plus week without ever managing his twenty one direct reports. Having running Yarde Metals for over 30 years, managing my direct reports was the hardest thing I had to do. It's a tough job to review everyone twice a year and have meetings with each one every few weeks to see how he/she is performing the goals and objectives
for each department. I had six associates reporting to me. I can't imagine what would happen if I had twenty one associates reporting to me and not meeting with them at all. Let me give you an example what happens when you don't manage your people. Under Mayor Stortz, it well documented in the Bristol Press about his issues with the BDA department head Jonathan Rosenthal.
There was also concerns about Jonathan's performance with the previous two administrations. Personally, I think he did a good job, but i was the customer not the boss. Well, Mayor Stortz bypassed the BDA and formed another committee to handle the mall project. Jonathan had already did the RFQ for the new mall project. Jonathan who makes about $100,000 per year job was in limbo for these two years as they bypassed him. The mayor asked me to be on this committee which I agreed until I found out he was bypassing the BDA. I respectfully told him I didn't agree with what he was doing and refused to be on the new mall committee. They have budgeted three hundred and fifty thousand dollars
for legal fees to set this committee up along with other expenses. Since the pass four mayors have not at all managed their twenty one direct reports their was nothing in Jonathans personnel file. No reviews, no verbal warnings, no written warnings, nothing at all. So there was no valid argument to dismiss him. Knowing the laws, I would guess it will cost the city anywhere from $500,000 to a million dollars to dismiss Jonathan Rosenthal. The main reason is he was managed so poorly. My question to fellow bloggers is what do you think the mayor should do at this
point to handle this individual. A very difficult situation. Can you see the legal difficulty by not managing you direct reports. There was a recent department head that sued the city for $250,000 dollars for the same reason. All I want is to protect the city and prevent our tax dollars from getting wasted for lack of management. We are talking some very serious money here that gets wasted. Your tax dollars.If know of any other areas were money has been squandered. Please email me at hirecoo@gmail.com Thank you.

And there's this one, too:
I did not include Leone in my remarks and by the way he is a strong supporter of the Charter Revision Committee to create a COO position. I know Artie has recently put some warnings in Jonathan's file but the horse is out of the barn. Because Frank, Couture and Bill has never given any reviews, no verbal and no written warnings and have given very little direction to department heads, the stage is already set. I have heard rumors of antisemitic remarks and one mayor grabbing Jonathan's ass but it's only hearsay at this stage. It will all come out in the wash when Bristol decides to do something with his employment. What we have here is lifetime employment in the city unless we decide to pay him to leave and that will be big bucks. I didn't say anything about public impute to the mall or nothing being accomplished. What I'm saying is we are not managing the people side of the city business which will get the city in big law suits in the future unless we let everyone have lifetime employment. Is that what we want?
Craig Yarde

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