A taxpayer walks into the office of the assistant to the business administrator and promptly tells this new employee that she doesn’t know how to do her job, will report her alleged deficiencies to the mayor and governing body, and reminds her that she pays her salary. The tone was nasty, condescending, and inappropriate, even for a public sector work environment where the expectation is dissatisfied people will complain on a daily, if not hourly, basis. The business administrator quickly intervened, set the record straight on the taxpayer’s complaint, and insisted that the tone and behavior is unwelcome, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated as the incident demonstrated an act of unnecessary bullying. The incident was so unwelcome, the employee was reduced to tears.
Elected and appointed public officials are held to a very high standard, and they should be. Individuals choose to enter public service for many reasons, including future political aspirations, good pay, health benefits, pensions, and other reasons.
However, we must remind ourselves that public employment and public service has a primary goal: We must advance the public’s interests. Not our own, but those of the people we serve. To effectively do so, we must continually rise above a very high standard of treating people with kindness and respect even in cases when they are running a fever on any issue, from a streetlight being out to a beach path being temporarily closed. In Avalon, staff is continually trained and re-trained to achieve a high level of courteous public service.
Citizens are stressed more than ever due to a turbulent political climate and new economic and social issues that are difficult for many to navigate. However, this does not give individuals unfettered access to public employees for the singular purpose of bullying and harassment. Simple kindness and courtesy matter.
Civility Policy Adopted
As a result of the experience noted above, and others, Avalon drafted and approved a civility policy pertaining to public interactions with employees.
The resolution reinforces the Borough’s expectation that public officials treat our customers with courtesy and respect. And it also creates the expectation for the public that interactions do not interfere with the employees’ rights to a work environment that is free from intolerance, harassment, and all types of bullying.
This policy was drafted carefully with the recognition that freedom of speech and expression by the public continues to be maintained and protected. The policy states intolerable acts, including threat of harm in any way, use of loud or offensive language, any disruption to municipal operations, and other related matters.
Case In Point
A citizen opens the door and enters the office of a top administrative official. He raises his voice very loudly; the entire municipal building could hear it. Language was extremely offensive and filled with profanity and directed at a senior member of staff with uncontrollable rage and personally disparaging comments. The individual attempted to bully the senior employee, and police were called as the citizen began to make personal threats to the employee. Police were called to restore order and remove the individual from the public building due to outrageous, threatening behavior.
This event occurred a few years before the most recent event. Under Avalon’s new civility policy, a pattern of this behavior may result in consideration by the business administrator to exclude visitation for this individual. Additionally, the policy addresses individuals who repeatedly use electronic communications (telephone calls, email) to intimidate and harass officials.
Civility Is Not a Sign of Weakness
President John F. Kennedy said it best: “So let us begin anew–remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.”
Nearly every person who reads this article has lived through similar experiences in the public sector. Every municipality wants to conduct business in a professional, adult manner. After all, the public sector is the epitome of customer service. We train and expect our politicians and employees to represent themselves, and the communities they serve, with ethics, honor, and respect for others.
A civility policy will not cure uncivil behavior. But a civility policy will remind employees to act respectfully and demonstrate to employees that even though they must take tempers and angry customers, they do not have to do so when they feel bullied, intimidated, threatened, or harassed. Kindness and respect matters. And it is fair, just, and reasonable to expect that from elected and appointed public officials, and the public they have the privilege to serve, with ethics, honor, and respect for others.
A civility policy will not cure uncivil behavior. But a civility policy will remind employees to act respectfully and demonstrate to employees that even though they must take tempers and angry customers, they do not have to do so when they feel bullied, intimidated, threatened, or harassed.
Kindness and respect matters. And it is fair, just, and reasonable to expect that from elected and appointed public officials, and the public they have the privilege to serve