May 2003

What Should a City Manager Do When an Employee Behaves Badly Toward a Neighbor?

Gary is your city planner, and he’s very good at his job. Recently, though, Gary has been in the local news, not because of his work but because of his off-duty behavior. It seems that Gary is having a conflict with his neighbor over a fence. Last year Gary and Thom had an argument over trimming a tree that sits on their property line. Thom, in reprisal for having lost the argument, erected a six-foot fence between the properties (the maximum allowable in the city). In return, Gary painted the side of his house that faces Thom’s property an awful shade of orange. Thom sued Gary for disturbing the peace and Gary counter-sued for harassment.

Legally Gary did nothing wrong, but his behavior is an embarrassment to the city. Is there an ethical issue here? Do you, as city manager, have any responsibility to supervise Gary’s off-duty behavior, even when legal, when it has the potential to reflect poorly on the image of the city workforce? What would you do if you were the city manager? Is there an ethical issue here?

Here are a few suggestions:

Brian Bursiek (bbursiek@attbi.com) says: “While I don’t believe you can be responsible for the behavior of all your employees off duty, I believe you should probably speak to him about his conduct and tactfully suggest to him that it doesn’t make him look good to do things like he’s done thus far. I would tell him that while you aren’t officially reprimanding him or disciplining him that you hope he will give what you said some thought. If it goes much further you may have grounds to officially warn him. Another possibility is whether he has an employment contract with provisions in it that may address this type of behavior.”

Pat Burke (burke3333@hotmail.com) adds: “Gary has brought unwelcome attention to the city although he has done nothing wrong legally. I would ask Gary if he would take the first step to de-escalate the situation. I would suggest that Gary paint his house the original color. Painting the one side of his house orange was done to spite his neighbor. It was a childish decision that reflected poorly on Gary’s judgment. Hopefully, the neighbor would reciprocate by dropping the lawsuit. I would not go any further than this. Gary does have a right to a personal life. So far, nothing has affected Gary’s job performance. Until I notice a problem with Gary’s work that appears to be related to the dispute with his neighbor, I would only offer advice even if unsolicited.”

–scenario submitted by Susan Paddock, U. of Wisconsin (spaddock@dcs.wisc.edu)