Cupertino blasted as `a house divided'
Civil grand jury report: Toxic relationship between city staff, councilmembers
A civil grand jury investigating complaints of a toxic work environment in Cupertino city offices found some members of the City Council had created a deep culture of distrust and fear and fostered a dysfunctional workplace, leading to harmful staff turnover and violations of city codes.
A 52-page grand jury report released last week, titled “A House Divided,” outlined multiple complaints of mistreatment by councilmembers, including allegations they belittled and berated staffers during council meetings and exerted improper influence upon them.
The workplace culture at Cupertino City Hall has led to high turnover among staff members and the loss of employees with “significant experience and capabilities,” creating challenges for the council in effectively serving Cupertino residents, the report released Dec. 19 said.
The jury's report also concluded the city hadn't done enough to manage its fiscal and financial risks, and had failed to implement changes in response to a scheme in which a former city staff member embezzled $800,000 from the city from 2000 to 2014.
“Many of these deficiencies have existed for several years and pose potentially serious future operating and financial risks to the city as it pursues significant growth projects,” the report said. “The behavior of councilmembers may need to be reviewed and good government practices implemented to remediate the dysfunction that currently
exists.”
In an email to city employees, City Manager Pamela Wu and City Attorney Chris Jensen said the city is taking the allegations seriously and would seek to learn more about employees' concerns, complaints and suggestions.
“The city will respond to the grand jury report within 90 days, as required by law,” Wu and Jensen wrote. “In the meantime, we will take a hard look at the grand jury's recommendations, in addition to our current policies. We are already working with our new City Council and look forward to building a strong relationship between our staff and elected officials as we all continue to serve our Cupertino residents and community.”
Mayor Hung Wei, who was elected to replace former Mayor Darcy Paul on Dec. 9, said the report's findings present an opportunity for the new council to learn and grow together.
“There are excellent recommendations from the report for the newly formed Cupertino City Council to act on, to strengthen the understanding of the lawful and ethical duties and limitations that public officials
have sworn to defend and perform,” Wei said in a statement.
“Rather than resorting to `who to blame,' we need to value that we are `in this together!' ” she wrote.
The report specifically cited Paul, who left the council in December, and Councilmember Kitty Moore, who remains on the new council, of “councilmanic interference” in attempting to circumvent the city manager's direction of the city staff on behalf of the council as a whole.
No others named
None of the other members of the past council explicitly was named in the report, though the report makes broad references to the councilmembers as a group throughout.
In one instance, Paul was accused of asking city staff members to take on additional work outside of scheduled work hours. The jury found the former mayor failed to recognize the power dynamics at play in that request and the “inherent difference in stature” between a city staff member and the mayor, the report said.
Paul also asked city staff members to work at events “that were not part of official city business” outside of work hours on at least two other occasions and made at least one of those requests by calling the staff member personally, the report said.
Neither Paul nor former Vice Mayor and current Councilmember Liang Chao and former Councilmember John Willey responded to requests for comment on the report's findings.
Moore, who was accused of violating city policies barring interference in the day-to-day operations of city staffers by repeatedly questioning a city staff member about charges on a city credit card, said the report did not accurately depict her request. She said she asked then-interim Manager Greg Larson to look into the matter.
The investigation also found the city had an “abnormally high turnover rate” among staffers, including key top staff positions, which had resulted in the hiring of less experienced staffers and damage to the city's reputation and ability to recruit qualified staffers, the report said.
In response to its findings, the grand jury recommended the city establish a public ethics commission to create a training program for all councilmembers, and hire a consultant to study staff morale and make recommendations to improve employee retention.
“The civil grand jury is aware that this report will be published after the November 2022 elections and hopes that any newly elected councilmembers will take the opportunity to develop better working relationships with the city staff,” the report said.