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IamSauerKraut t1_jcy4l8r wrote

Employment records are not public, so why the fuss?

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KohTaeNai t1_jczswqf wrote

I think because some people are under the impression that the government works for them, so it's their right as taxpaying citizens to know what's happening with the people they pay for that work.

But obviously government workers serve themselves primarily, so that's not the case.

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athermalwill t1_jd0fsfr wrote

They’re paying him 4 months severance. The public should have a right to know what led to that outcome.

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IamSauerKraut t1_jd1cbyz wrote

They probably have a right to know how the vote went, e.g., who voted up or down, but much of the rest is non-public due to labor and privacy laws.

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ghstber t1_jd8kvqz wrote

Government operates with a level of transparency at all levels, some more than others. I wouldn't say this is a matter of employment records, but is a matter of a public servant quickly and, against his contract, resigning for reasons that are shrouded.

While I don't advocate for people's private aspects of their lives becoming public if unrelated or unimportant (e.g. "due to health in the family I will be stepping away"), I do think that it is reasonable to give a simple answer in those cases that does not expose details. Otherwise, if the City Manager has some sort of skeleton that came out of the closet, it is important to the voters to know as a matter of hindsight. Specifically, how do we improve the quality of future individuals that we either put or vote into place of power.

> “It’s Steve’s story to tell. There’s nothing I can say about it.”

It would be trivial for Daly to release a statement indicating why there was a departure and to not share details he wasn't interested in sharing. Not doing this is really just bad optics for a person who is a public servant, and therefore should understand the need for transparency more than the average person.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk!

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