[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...33510222539.txt

Meer: Duties taken away in retaliation

By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, February 27, 2010 4:16 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — City Councilman Ron Meer, who also works at the Michigan City Sanitary District, told The News-Dispatch on Friday that Sanitary District management has taken lucrative assistant-supervisory duties from him as retaliation for his participation in environmental and safety investigations at the district.

“I’m being retaliated against for aiding state and federal investigations,” Meer said.

Meer said he has reported violations at the district to various agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

After The News-Dispatch contacted Sanitary District General Manager Al Walus for comment, attorney Bill Nelson, of the Braje, Nelson and Janes law firm, responded on behalf of Walus. Nelson said he could not discuss personnel matters.

Meer said that he was told by managers at the district shortly after the Sanitary Board meeting on Wednesday that he wasn’t going to be filling in as an assistant supervisor any longer.

His superiors told him that “(they) don’t see it as a demotion, (they) see it as an opportunity to train some of (their) younger employees,” he said.

“Why do you have to take me out of the position to train somebody?” Meer asked in an interview with a reporter.

He believes the other person is being groomed to eventually become a supervisor.

Meer said that the assistant duties often meant several thousands of dollars extra per year in pay for him.

The News-Dispatch carried a report this week that the Sanitary District was recently cited by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violating several safety regulations, including not having a plan in place in the event chlorine or sulfur dioxide gas was released. The news story was prompted by receipt of information from an anonymous source.

[Ang]

HA! See? What did I tell ya?

We should merge this thread with the S/D violations thread.

[Johnny Rush]

I transcribed some of last night's council meeting regarding the Meer demotion and we will be playing the entire Jankowski speech during the morning show today on AM 1420 WIMS.


Councilman Jankowski at the meeting last night:

On Ron Meer's Replacement:

On January 22nd, a Sanitary District vehicle was involved in an accident in the county while the driver was on duty, but was not conducting sanitary district business. The district truck was totaled, the other vehicle was damaged and the driver was injured. It took place several miles from any sanitary district facility or infrastructure. The sanitary district employee was reprimanded and suspended.

Last week, that person, who was demoted and had been suspended was promoted into a position formerly held by Councilman Meer. Mr. Meer was demoted after it became common knowledge that he had reported serious health and safety violations to IOSHA. To summarize this travesty, an individual totaled a city vehicle while being used for an improper use, he was suspended for a serious infraction, then promoted approximately 65 days later into a position held by a Councilman trying to do the right thing.


On Sanitary District's new personal policies handbook:

There is a section that deals with hiring and relatives, and as expected the section is very weak. You will recall that the Cockamamie hiring procedure Mr. Walus created, at the time he created a job for and hired his brother in-law, was very detailed and it is not in the new policy. On the surface, it appears that the new sophisticated cockamamie policy is only used when there is a desire to hire relatives. You will recall that the previous council passed a vote of no confidence in Mr. Walus and his board of Sanitary Commissioners as a result of that fiasco.

As a general rule, personally assigned vehicles are to be driven home by employees for the sole purpose of garaging and safe keeping of those vehicles. That is clearly a gross mis-representation of the facts. You have a supervisor driving a vehicle to Merrillville every day, parking it on the street, and you have other vehicles being taken home and parking on the street also.


On the IOSHA Report:


(it is) identifying serious violations that endanger the health and welfare, as well as the safety, of employees of the Sanitary District and the public. You have staff that were not adequately prepared for an emergency, you have visitors to the plant and the surrounding areas that have been placed in harms way.

I would like to say that I think Mr. Meer should be commended for his actions and the retribution that he has encountered should not be tolerated by the city.

I did come into possession to an EPA report and I believe that there's gonna be a problem for the Sanitary District on that report also, so that will be something we will see in the near future


On Al Walus:

People think that there's not intimidation or people do not demote you as a result of your actions. The people that were on the council last term will recall that there was an effort by Mr. Walus to silence me for being relatively outspoken and critical of that department. So it does exist and I assume that it will probably continue to exist until this issue comes to an end once and for all

[edgeywood]

I transcribed some of last night's council meeting regarding the Meer demotion and we will be playing the entire Jankowski speech during the morning show today on AM 1420 WIMS.
Councilman Jankowski at the meeting last night:

On Al Walus:

People think that there's not intimidation or people do not demote you as a result of your actions. The people that were on the council last term will recall that there was an effort by Mr. Walus to silence me for being relatively outspoken and critical of that department. So it does exist and I assume that it will probably continue to exist until this issue comes to an end once and for all

Meer has been suspended pending dismissal.

[Southsider2k12]

Meer has been suspended pending dismissal.

I just heard that on WIMS... apparently he was just escorted from the property about 30 minutes ago.

Well if this doesn't set up his run for mayor, nothing does. Not to mention, I would bet money someone is moved into his district to run against Meer.

[Southsider2k12]

I transcribed some of last night's council meeting regarding the Meer demotion and we will be playing the entire Jankowski speech during the morning show today on AM 1420 WIMS.
Councilman Jankowski at the meeting last night:

On Ron Meer's Replacement:

On January 22nd, a Sanitary District vehicle was involved in an accident in the county while the driver was on duty, but was not conducting sanitary district business. The district truck was totaled, the other vehicle was damaged and the driver was injured. It took place several miles from any sanitary district facility or infrastructure. The sanitary district employee was reprimanded and suspended.

Last week, that person, who was demoted and had been suspended was promoted into a position formerly held by Councilman Meer. Mr. Meer was demoted after it became common knowledge that he had reported serious health and safety violations to IOSHA. To summarize this travesty, an individual totaled a city vehicle while being used for an improper use, he was suspended for a serious infraction, then promoted approximately 65 days later into a position held by a Councilman trying to do the right thing.
On Sanitary District's new personal policies handbook:

There is a section that deals with hiring and relatives, and as expected the section is very weak. You will recall that the Cockamamie hiring procedure Mr. Walus created, at the time he created a job for and hired his brother in-law, was very detailed and it is not in the new policy. On the surface, it appears that the new sophisticated cockamamie policy is only used when there is a desire to hire relatives. You will recall that the previous council passed a vote of no confidence in Mr. Walus and his board of Sanitary Commissioners as a result of that fiasco.

As a general rule, personally assigned vehicles are to be driven home by employees for the sole purpose of garaging and safe keeping of those vehicles. That is clearly a gross mis-representation of the facts. You have a supervisor driving a vehicle to Merrillville every day, parking it on the street, and you have other vehicles being taken home and parking on the street also.
On the IOSHA Report:
(it is) identifying serious violations that endanger the health and welfare, as well as the safety, of employees of the Sanitary District and the public. You have staff that were not adequately prepared for an emergency, you have visitors to the plant and the surrounding areas that have been placed in harms way.

I would like to say that I think Mr. Meer should be commended for his actions and the retribution that he has encountered should not be tolerated by the city.

I did come into possession to an EPA report and I believe that there's gonna be a problem for the Sanitary District on that report also, so that will be something we will see in the near future
On Al Walus:

People think that there's not intimidation or people do not demote you as a result of your actions. The people that were on the council last term will recall that there was an effort by Mr. Walus to silence me for being relatively outspoken and critical of that department. So it does exist and I assume that it will probably continue to exist until this issue comes to an end once and for all

Please post the link to the audio when/if you guys get it posted. I am sure a lot of people would like to hear it!

[Dave]

Meer has been suspended pending dismissal.

If Meer is being fired for whistleblowing, the city is going to be on the losing side of a seriously large lawsuit. It's time for someone to fire someone/convince him to retire early so we can all see how a competently run Sanitary District looks.

I mean really -- retaliatory discharge? It makes them (the Sanitary District and the people running it) look guilty as hell of whatever EPA violations have been alleged, of firing someone for upholding the law (EPA violations are illegal, eh?), and of just generally being clueless morons.

[Tom Burns]

If Meer is being fired for whistleblowing, the city is going to be on the losing side of a seriously large lawsuit. It's time for someone to fire someone/convince him to retire early so we can all see how a competently run Sanitary District looks.

I mean really -- retaliatory discharge? It makes them (the Sanitary District and the people running it) look guilty as hell of whatever EPA violations have been alleged, of firing someone for upholding the law (EPA violations are illegal, eh?), and of just generally being clueless morons.

The attorney for the Sanitary District has requested WEFM audio broadcast live four days ago, and news stories. This is not cable tv audio. We have a similar request from Ron Meer.

[Dave]

The attorney for the Sanitary District has requested WEFM audio broadcast live four days ago, and news stories. This is not cable tv audio. We have a similar request from Ron Meer.

What's your answer going to be?

I mean, if I asked you for WEFM audio from a week ago Monday from some program you had on, would you cheerfully provide it, advise me that it's in your archives and available for a reasonable fee, tell me you don't make regular recordings, tell me to get a subpoena, or just tell me to drop dead?

Because I'd hope you'd be saying the same thing to Mr. Meer and the Sanitary District attorney. Just because someone is an attorney for a government agency doesn't mean he/they are entitled to anything the general public isn't.

This post has been edited by Dave: Mar 3 2010, 08:24 PM

[Tom Burns]

What's your answer going to be?

I mean, if I asked you for WEFM audio from a week ago Monday from some program you had on, would you cheerfully provide it, advise me that it's in your archives and available for a reasonable fee, tell me you don't make regular recordings, tell me to get a subpoena, or just tell me to drop dead?

Because I'd hope you'd be saying the same thing to Mr. Meer and the Sanitary District attorney. Just because someone is an attorney for a government agency doesn't mean he/they are entitled to anything the general public isn't.

If we still have it we do make tape available and unless quite long, there is no charge. In several instances our news coverage has been part of legal cases. It is usually just easier to provide tape than to wait for a subpoena. A judge will usually grant any subpoena and they are usually way too sweeping, and we then have to take the time and expense to file an objection.....typically a subpoena would seek any and all news in the past number of years on a subject. We once put 40 hours in on research. For that we did bill the court and the court paid. But we don't have that kind of time, and we have learned to object and then the judge usually restricts the search. As we have the only broadcast staff on the streets regularly gathering news, it is not unusual to get such requests.

However we will not provide news notes or reveal the names of confidential sources as we believe that has first amendment protection and if violated dries up news sources. Courts have ruled both ways on that.

This is probably more than you wanted to know. In short if you want a copy of anything we recently put on tape, ask and we will comply.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...59779938736.txt

Meer suspended

Ron Meer
Also escorted from facilities
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, March 4, 2010 4:19 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — Sanitary District General Manager Al Walus suspended employee Ron Meer and escorted him from the facilities Wednesday morning.

“I was suspended and I was escorted off the property today,” said Meer, who also is a City Council member. Asked if he was being dismissed, he said, “Not yet.”

It was another in a series of clashes Meer has had with Walus over Sanitary District operations.

Meer said he couldn’t say more about the incident, and referred inquiries to his attorney, Charles Sheerin.

“As I understand, and I’m not sure, I think Mr. Walus and Mr. (Michael) Hoffman, who is the superintendent of waste water collections, I think walked him off the property,” Sheerin said.

Sheerin said Meer had been suspended with pay pending a Sanitary District investigation.

Walus said he couldn’t comment on personnel matters.

Sheerin said Meer may file a complaint to the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration claiming he was retaliated against. Meer’s recent troubles began after a Sanitary Board meeting Feb. 24 when he was told he was being stripped of lucrative assistant supervisory duties. He said at the time he believed he was being retaliated against by District management for reporting safety and environmental issues to state and federal agencies.

The News-Dispatch reported recently the Sanitary District had been cited by IOSHA for several violations during visits by inspectors in January. Meer has said he alerted IOSHA to the recent issues at the district.

Mayor Chuck Oberlie said Wednesday in an e-mail he would not comment on the matter at this time.

Members of the Sanitary Board, which oversees the District, are appointed by the mayor.

In an Anvil Chorus letter in today’s News-Dispatch, Agnes Meer, Ron Meer’s wife, defended her husband.

“All of this is happening because Ron is not willing to compromise his integrity,” she wrote.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...9f120048217.txt

Wife says doing right thing costs Meer his job

Published: Thursday, March 4, 2010 8:57 AM CST
I’ve sat on the sidelines and endured the scandalous nonsense of the mayor’s Sanitary District department head and his family for too long.

Now they’ve gone too far with coming after my husband [Ron Meer, suspended Wednesday by the Sanitary District]. Ron takes the responsibilities of his district job very seriously. He’s been a dedicated employee for more than 20 years. There are no blemishes on his record. He has always extended himself to help others before he worked at the Sanitary District, while he’s been working there, and would continue to do so even after the district.

If you take a deeper look, many would obviously see that is the type of person he is.

Now the mayor’s head of the Sanitary District is costing my four children financially. They are taking food from our table. My sons and daughter need glasses, I have a son in college. Our bills have to be paid even in this economic climate. All I’ve seen for years is the head of the district hoard and ravish the city financially, while they strip my family financially.

All of this is happening because Ron is not willing to compromise his integrity.

What are we teaching children if it costs someone EVERYTHING to do the right thing?

Agnes Meer

Michigan City

q

Editor’s note: Our article on Ron Meer today reports that he was suspended with pay.

[Johnny Rush]

Maybe we'll be able to hear the "other side" on Monday night or Tuesday morning. The Sanitary Board of Commissioners has called for an Executive Session this Monday at 5pm to discuss alleged misconduct by an "employee". I have a feeling that there HAS to be a lot more to this story, but the Board hasn't been able to comment on the issue...hopefully this will flesh things out a bit?

[lovethiscity]

Maybe we'll be able to hear the "other side" on Monday night or Tuesday morning. The Sanitary Board of Commissioners has called for an Executive Session this Monday at 5pm to discuss alleged misconduct by an "employee". I have a feeling that there HAS to be a lot more to this story, but the Board hasn't been able to comment on the issue...hopefully this will flesh things out a bit?

Maybe we will find out what the aparently spineless mayor meant by this statement.

Mayor Chuck Oberlie, who also attended the City Council meeting, said in an interview that the matter of Meer’s demotion as well as the safety violations are being investigated.

[edgeywood]

Maybe we'll be able to hear the "other side" on Monday night or Tuesday morning. The Sanitary Board of Commissioners has called for an Executive Session this Monday at 5pm to discuss alleged misconduct by an "employee". I have a feeling that there HAS to be a lot more to this story, but the Board hasn't been able to comment on the issue...hopefully this will flesh things out a bit?

My prediction...you won't get anything beyond "no comment" (or something equally enlightening) from the S-D. Take a look at the archives relating to the nepotism issue at the S-D. They'll circle the wagons and hope this drops from the radar, just like they did in that case.

[Southsider2k12]

My prediction...you won't get anything beyond "no comment" (or something equally enlightening) from the S-D. Take a look at the archives relating to the nepotism issue at the S-D. They'll circle the wagons and hope this drops from the radar, just like they did in that case.

I think they will talk about proper chain of command when reporting problems. That seems to be the justification that is going to be used. Which is interesting especially when you look at the departments (lack of) reaction to their violations with the state.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...f7819798839.txt

District will investigate Meer

Matt Field/The News-Dispatch The Sanitary District headquarters.
Sanitary District suspended Meer with pay Wednesday
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, March 5, 2010 4:17 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — The Sanitary District opened an investigation Thursday into Councilman Ron Meer, also a District employee, after suspending him with pay.

A day earlier, General Manager Al Walus suspended Meer and personally walked him from the facilities. Now the District has hired attorney Mark Phillips to conduct an investigation into Meer, said Bill Nelson, the attorney for the Sanitary District.

Nelson would not say why Meer was being investigated. Previously, Walus said he could not comment on Meer’s suspension.

Meer has accused the District of retaliating against him for reporting safety violations to the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration. IOSHA inspectors cited the District with several violations after visits in January.

While hiring an outside attorney for an investigation into an employee is not standard procedure, it is not unheard of, Nelson said.

When asked whether Meer’s political career would affect the investigation into him, Nelson said it wouldn’t.

“From this standpoint, Mr. Meer is an employee of the Sanitary District, that’s it,” Nelson said.

Meer’s recent troubles began after a February Sanitary Board meeting when District management told him he was being stripped of lucrative assistant supervisory duties. Those assistant duties often meant several thousand dollars in extra pay a year, Meer said.

Meer is a System Collection II employee at the District. He earns $17.11 per hour, Nelson said.

Nelson wouldn’t say whether Meer could face dismissal when the investigation concludes. That could happen in the next several days.

The Sanitary District scheduled a closed-door board meeting for Monday to discuss personnel issues. Specifically, the board will “ ... receive information concerning the individual’s alleged misconduct; ... discuss, before a determination, the individual’s status as an employee.”

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...dd840781870.txt

Meer should work through channels

Published: Friday, March 5, 2010 4:17 AM CST
Mr. Meer’s desire to help the community is admirable. However, from information given in The News Dispatch, it would seem that Mr. Meer’s “trying to do the right thing” is a little skewed. Doing the right thing, especially as even a part-time management member, is to immediately bring to the attention of upper management any and all safety concerns or violations in the work place. The time to notify IOSHA is when upper management refuses to acknowledge or mitigate those safety violations.

All employees of any business or entity have a moral obligation to immediately report all safety concerns to upper management so that safety can be assured to all employees in a timely fashion. By reporting such safety concerns to an outside agency, first, and then waiting for that agency to investigate, puts all those employees at greater risk.

As an employee and elected official of the City of Michigan City, it is time for Mr. Meer to put aside whatever animosity he has for his employer (which is we, the citizens of Michigan City) and use the proper channels and procedures to address any misconduct he perceives.

Mary Susan Yadavia

Michigan City

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...6f588741950.txt

City should support Meer, not humiliate him

Published: Friday, March 5, 2010 4:17 AM CST
I am writing in support of Ron Meer. I am so very upset at this unjust punishment for a person who is just trying to do the right thing. Instead of rewarding and trying to hold onto a good worker, they’re doing just the opposite.

All he was trying to do was protect all the people of Michigan City from some very unsafe things, which could easily have turned into lawsuits against the city and also gotten people sick.

OSHA is not just a fly-by-night outfit. They are not going to come in here and say there are dangerous things if they’re not, for heaven’s sake.

On a personal note, I have had to call the Sanitary District when a line in front of my house needed jetting out or something. I have found these gentlemen to be very polite and helpful, especially Mr. Meer.

Last, to the heads of this department, when was the last time you were called out at 2 a.m. to jet a line or something else? Your employees are out at all hours of the day and night, in 20 below wind chill or 95 percent humidity — not a job many people would want to do.

I would do everything to hold onto these good workers, not tear them down and humiliate them.

Mandy, Kitti, Suzie and Mia Hajdusiewicz

Michigan City

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...f6348975012.txt

Details revealed on Meer's replacement

Employee was suspended in December
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, March 6, 2010 4:16 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — When City Councilman Phil Jankowski defended colleague Ron Meer after Meer was stripped of assistant supervisory duties at the Sanitary District, Jankowski said Meer’s replacement was previously suspended.

Documents The News-Dispatch obtained Friday from the Sanitary District through an open-records request confirm employee Joshua Barnett was suspended in December.

Meer said Barnett has been given his former assistant duties.

According to the documents, Barnett told his supervisor he took a district truck home Dec. 22 after feeling ill and needing to change his clothes. But in icy conditions, he never made it home. Instead, his truck slid past a stop sign at Claire Court and Orchard Drive in Coolspring Township and hit another car.

The driver of the other car complained of pain, according to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Department crash report. A Sanitary District document said she had to be taken away by ambulance. Barnett’s truck couldn’t be driven and had to be towed from the scene.

The Sheriff’s Department didn’t issue any citations, noting the crash was due to the weather. The district suspended Barnett without pay for two days for leaving work without authorization, a violation of a major rule in the district’s handbook.

Bill Nelson, the Sanitary District’s lawyer, said District General Manager Al Walus told him Barnett would have been granted permission to go home if he had just asked before he took the truck.

According to an employee statement, Barnett said he went home without permission because he felt embarrassed by his illness.

Meer, himself, has since been suspended with pay from his job and is being investigated by the district. Nelson wouldn’t say what the investigation is about, and Walus wouldn’t comment on Meer’s suspension.

The district has scheduled a closed-door board meeting Monday to discuss an employee. While a notice of the meeting did not say Meer’s circumstances would be discussed, Nelson previously said the investigation of Meer, which began Thursday, would take a few days.

Jankowski said in an interview Friday he planned to go to the Sanitary District in Meer’s support before the 5 p.m. meeting.

Meer has said the district took his former assistant duties from him in retaliation for reporting safety violations at the district to the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Taking on the duties often meant several thousand dollars in extra pay a year, Meer has said. His supervisors at the district told him at the time it wasn’t a demotion, but rather a chance for them to train younger employees.

Meer doesn’t think that’s necessary.

“I’m trained and qualified and have been doing this job for years,” Meer said Friday.