Waukesha — In order to avoid any suspicion of a conflict of interest, Mayor Jeff Scrima said Friday he had reimbursed the city the $428 paid to a campaign contributor for 30 books - books criticized by staff as covertly religious.
Meanwhile, City Administrator Lori Curtis Luther sent Scrima a memo Friday criticizing him for his actions and distractions.
"While you claim to have an interest in building team work and rapport," she wrote, "your actions are contrary to the goal."
The books, purchased for $428 from Gary Lato, a Scrima financial contributor, were given to department managers for reading and discussion at staff meetings. Last week, Police Chief Russell Jack objected to the book, "Sequencing: Deciphering Your Company's DNA," for its religious undertone in City Hall. The dispute became public, with Scrima challenging Jack to prove that it was religious in nature.
Scrima also called Jack hypocritical because the Police Department allows a volunteer Christian chaplain to use a desk and city electronic mailbox. Jack said the chaplain provides stress-related counseling and death notifications, not religion, in this volunteer capacity.
The "Sequencing" book's author, Michael Metzger, has described "Sequencing" on his DoggieHeadTilt blog in religious terms, saying it has "Christianity latent" with "words drawn from the board room but derived from the Bible."
And while Scrima said there is nothing religious about the book, a full-page picture on page 114 is of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross, Luther noted Friday.
Critical memo
In her memo, Luther defended Jack and said he's not the only one with concerns.
"While he was the only department director who publicly voiced his opinion," she wrote, "several raised concerns but feared retaliation from you. Those fears were clearly warranted and justified given the name calling and other negative statements you made about the police chief in the media. Chief Jack privately discussed his concerns with you, and yet, you chose to continue trying to promote the book reading and this issue became a public debate."
Scrima's only response came by email late Friday afternoon: "The citizens are tired of this drama."
Earlier this week, Scrima sent Jack an email copied to aldermen that apologized "for the apparent misunderstanding about the purpose" of reading the book.
"My intent was clearly not to cram some 'religious code' into the organization," he said. The point, he said, was to use the book to help managers become innovative in order to help find an estimated $1.5 million in budget savings needed while maintaining quality services.
Luther warned Scrima about the legal, constitutional and ethical issues of his reading assignment, fearing they risk a challenge over separation of church and state.
She also called Waukesha's department directors "innovative, collaborative, hardworking and well-educated" and said "they are also invested in continuous self- and organizational improvement." She said the upcoming budget shortfall is not a new phenomenon, and she is confident the Common Council will have a variety of options to consider.
"The staff and I have a great deal of work to do managing the day to day operations of the organization," she concluded. "It is extraordinarily difficult when we are consistently distracted by these kinds of conflicts. Please help us move forward by recognizing the expertise that we collectively have to offer and by treating us professionally."
Scrima said in his message to Jack on Tuesday that he would no longer require "Sequencing" to be discussed at directors' meetings, but he suggested they come up with a book to read that would help with teamwork and creativity and finding $1.5 million in savings.
At one team-building exercise at an earlier staff meeting, Scrima handed out colored pencils and paper and told managers to draw pictures of their ideal city. Several managers declined to comment on it, saying they weren't good artists. One said some seemed to enjoy the exercise.