Scrima accuses Waukesha police chief of hypocrisy

Published on: 4/25/2011

Waukesha - Mayor Jeff Scrima fired back at Police Chief Russell Jack on Monday, calling him hypocritical for objecting to the mayor's book reading assignment as religious-based while at the same time giving a Christian minister tax-supported office space and a city email address in the Police Department.

"The hypocrisy is glaring," Scrima said. "Why not pay for a Muslim chaplain?"

The chief defended the use of a minister who is an on-call volunteer, brought in before Jack was chief, and who provides crisis-related stress management counseling and death notifications.

The minister, Robin Knoll, "was not brought into the Police Department for religious purposes, nor does he practice his religion here at the Police Department," Jack said.

Knoll is part of the Critical Incident Stress Management Unit, providing pre-crisis education and intervention and mental health referrals tied to specific crises. Department chaplains have been used since the 1990s.

Knoll uses a vacant desk "sparingly" when he's in the department, Jack said. He was given an electronic city mailbox last May, which costs $3.80 per month or $45.60 per year per person, according to information technology staff.

Jack also stood his ground Monday on his objections to Scrima's book discussion.

Scrima maintains that the book in question, "Sequencing: Deciphering Your Company's DNA" by Michael Metzger and published by a Metzger associate and Scrima campaign contributor, Gary Lato of Waukesha, has no religious overtones or language whatsoever.

Scrima bought 30 books with $428 in tax funds and distributed them to department managers and aldermen, instructing managers to read the book and discuss it in three staff meetings.

Jack objected privately to the mayor before last week's meeting and then during the department directors' meeting. Later that day, he provided Scrima with an email linking to Metzger's online "Living the Gospel in Culture."

The "Sequencing" book uses a framework of code words - what ought to be, what is, what can be and what will be - to explore corporate culture. In his "Living the Gospel" online essay, Metzger explains the "cosmic code" of those four words as "Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration" - "universal pattern (that) can only be explained by the gospel."

Scrima said Jack has failed to provide any distinctly religious examples in the book. He says the so-called code words are typical narrative construction in literature.

"I don't think it's fair for someone to create suspicions and then walk away," he said.

Chief stands by concerns

Jack said the religious message is covert.

"There is no mention of the word Christianity in there, but the code comes from (the essay) Living the Gospel in Culture," he said. "They try to influence business and government, but they know they can't bring in the religious language," he said.

"I'm not anti-religious," the chief said. "And I read the book, first of all."

He added, "In regards to the mayor calling me a hypocrite, I choose not to engage in name-calling in the newspaper or in any other venue. I do not believe it is professional."

Scrima also said he believed some other department director - he didn't say who - put the chief up to raising objections. Only managers and aldermen were given the book, and Scrima said he doubted aldermen "even cracked it open."

Jack disputed the charge that he was put up to it by someone else: "No, absolutely not."

City Administrator Lori Luther, who is out of town on vacation, said last week that Scrima is putting the city at risk of legal action over separation of church and state.

"Without question, there will be no further book discussions in my presence," she said.

Scrima, on the other hand, said he wanted the discussions in staff meetings to continue. He said the goal is to help managers get a fresh perspective and find innovative ideas to tackle the city's financial challenges.

Jack said that since Luther runs the department directors' meetings, he did not expect the discussions to continue. Several other department managers agreed.

Other directors said in interviews last week that they did not see the book as helpful in terms of motivating them to do their jobs better. Some saw religious meaning after researching the author but said they were not offended. Others were surprised to learn that Scrima's financial contributor, Lato, was the publisher through a firm he founded.

Lato gave $500 to Scrima's mayoral campaign and contributed $16,500 from a family foundation to Scrima's New Day in Waukesha charitable fund. The fund was set up to receive half of Scrima's net pay as his way of fulfilling his campaign pledge to give half his pay back to the community. Lato also serves on the advisory panel that is recommending how to spend the funds on community causes.