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Concerns continue to follow McIntosh
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- In attempting to dismiss County Administrator Paul McIntosh last week, commissioners Diane Rowden and Nancy Robinson focused on two key complaints. Employee morale had hit an all-time low, they contended, and McIntosh's management style created more problems than it solved. Since October, he had faced a botched government center evacuation, a personnel crisis in the Emergency Management Department, a state inquiry into contracts with a utilities consultant and accusations that he violated the county gift-taking policy. McIntosh survived the onslaught, including last week's narrow vote that saved his job. But the morale and management-style issues linger, and he faces a performance review in July. When the commission and administration regroup during their meeting Tuesday, they must determine whether the situation is as bad as some say, and what if anything to do about it. "I'd like to see much more specific examples so I can take any necessary corrective action," McIntosh said, adding that he had seen no evidence of widespread morale problems. "I would really like to get beyond this nebulous 'management style' and 'morale' issue." Commissioners remained split in their views after last week's meeting, but hoped to get to a point quickly where they could decide on a course of action that will allow the government to get past its soap opera status and back to business. "We have an opportunity ahead of us to make some positive changes that will be good for the organization and for Hernando County," Robinson said. "If everybody participates, we will have a good outcome." Commissioner Betty Whitehouse questioned the reality of morale problems. Many employees have said they are happy, Whitehouse said. She suggested that county government has had internal factions for many years. "It just kind of got overemphasized (recently), and people who had complaints certainly got more vocal," Whitehouse observed. "Unfortunately, the people who are happy don't call and tell you that." Still, she agreed to try to help find ways to improve workers' cheer. The commission cannot do that alone, though, she noted. "Maybe we do need to have a meeting with employees, or go to their department meetings and get some input in what employees would like to see happen," Whitehouse said. "For us to say, 'This is what we think will make things better,' may not be what they feel they need." Commissioner Mary Aiken also disagreed with the notion that employee spirit has suffered. She said she has spent a lot of time talking to people in the patio area outside the government center. "The only person I got complaints from was Annette Doying," Aiken said, referring to the emergency management program coordinator who had filed complaints of a hostile work environment against her boss, Bill Appleby, who ultimately quit. She preferred to focus on issues such as the possible purchase of Florida Water Services in Spring Hill and the setting of fire-rescue fees. "We've got to get some work done," Aiken said. Rowden said she did not intend to offer any proposals to the commission Tuesday, because her colleagues do not listen to her. She concurred with Whitehouse, though, that the commission should not simply push solutions from on high. "Instead of jumping out there and saying, 'This is what we want to do,' it would be better for us to take some time and have some workshops including the employees," Rowden said. "It's important for us to realize the key to this operation, and to make sure it's running properly, is to make sure the employees are taken care of." In interviews with several county workers Thursday and Friday, the Times found little evidence of low morale. Most did not want to be quoted. Some acknowledged that Doying's travails worried them, because Appleby seemed wrong. If Doying had lost her battle to stand up for herself, they said, it seemed nothing would prevent other workers from suffering a similar fate if cast into a similar position challenging their boss. Appleby's ultimate departure, which some officials indicated was a forced resignation, eased that tension greatly. Others noted that spirit tanked after commissioners declined to punish McIntosh for violating the same conflict of interest policy that franchise regulator Chuck Lewis got reprimanded for breaking just weeks earlier. It looked like a double standard, they said. But by and large, they said morale is fine. They like their jobs, bosses and co-workers, though to a person they said better pay would be welcome. Since former administrator Bonnie Dyga left in 1999, "I would say the morale in our department has gone through the ceiling," said Laurel Richardson of the Parks and Facilities Department. "My morale is fine," said JoJo DiViccaro of the Human Resources Department. "It has always been fine. It will continue to be fine." Chris Lukowiak of the waste management division of the Utilities Department said he and his co-workers "couldn't be happier" that McIntosh is staying with the county. "Our morale is booming," he said. McIntosh, who came to Hernando in March 2000, said he began work to improve relations with the staff late last year. He began meeting monthly with groups of employees, sending monthly bulletins to the staff, and setting a more open-door policy. He also plans a climate survey among employees. "If there is ever the slightest bit of morale problem out there, we need to address it vigorously," he said. Robinson welcomed news that people seemed happier now that the McIntosh-Appleby saga is a thing of the past. She said she hoped the positive vibe would hold. Now is the perfect time to build on the momentum, she said. She called for ideas from all fronts to help make sure a situation like the one the county just endured never happens again. -- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com.
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