Anonymous letters and climate assessments

Since the letter was published on social media by an anonymous user, numerous current employees at all levels of the organization and across nearly every department have contacted management to express disappointment and to state that the letter does not reflect their experiences or views.”

Mayor Diego Plata

In recent weeks, questions have arisen in the community about an anonymous letter raising concerns about inappropriate conduct by Gunnison City Manager Amanda Wilson and a climate assessment of city employees that followed it.

However, details on the situation have often been scant or unclear. The Times queried Gunnison city leadership and Mayor Diego Plata to get answers about the events surrounding the climate assessment, what the assessment concluded and what information from the assessment is available to the public.

According to Plata, the events that led to the climate assessment began with the City Council receiving an anonymous email letter that raised a variety of concerns about Wilson’s performance and purported to be from 23 current and two former city employees, including all city departments.

 The letter, which began recirculating on Facebook in early August, accuses Wilson of a variety of improprieties, including favoritism, creating a hostile work environment, an improper relationship with certain city staff members that could lead to conflicts of interest, and damaging the city’s relationships with other regional partners.

It requested that Wilson be placed on administrative leave and that a third-party investigation into her actions be conducted, which should include measures to maintain confidentiality and prevent her from retaliating against critics.

Plata said that the city has not received evidence substantiating that the letter was submitted by, or represented the views of, current or former city staff. He added, “Since the letter was published on social media by an anonymous user, numerous current employees at all levels of the organization and across nearly every department have contacted management to express disappointment and to state that the letter does not reflect their experiences or views.”

After receiving the letter, Plata said that the City Council consulted with City Attorney Kathleen Fogo and the city’s Human Resources advisor Employer’s Council. They recommended that the city contract an independent investigator with knowledge of employment matters to review the letter.

The council unanimously approved allowing Fogo to negotiate a contract with such an investigator at its Feb. 24 meeting, while also authorizing Plata to execute the contract.

After this, Plata said that the city contracted with Employment Compliance Solutions, which was  recommended by the Employer's Council, to review the letter. “The investigator concluded that the nature of the anonymous complaint did not contain actionable allegations and therefore, did not warrant a formal investigation,” he said. “Instead, the investigator recommended a climate assessment as the most appropriate way to determine whether further inquiry or investigation was justified.”

The climate assessment gave all city employees the opportunity to share their concerns with Employment Compliance Solutions through confidential, one-on-one interviews, Plata said. Thirty-seven percent of city staff participated in the interviews, he said.

“The process was intended to determine whether the anonymous allegations reflected verifiable, firsthand experiences that warranted a formal investigation,” Plata said, adding that it did not identify information warranting further investigation.

Following the climate assessment, Plata said that the investigator provided the City Council with a short list of recommendations, which were also shared with Wilson and city department heads.

To protect confidentiality, he said that the investigator did not prepare or provide a detailed report since statements, even shorn of names, could reveal survey participants’ identities. “Consistent with professional practice, the investigator therefore provided the City with a conclusion and recommendations rather than interview details,” he said.

Demands for the release of the full findings of this investigation to the public have been a point of focus among those circulating the initial concern letter and other claims about follow-up to the letter on Facebook. Plata said the city has provided the appropriate documents in response to public records requests regarding the climate assessment. However, he reiterated that a detailed report from the climate assessment does not exist.

The investigator’s recommendations from the climate assessment focused on improving internal communications and enhancing collaboration between city staff, Plata said. The interviews also indicated some misunderstanding exists around the administrative decision-making process and the city budget, he added.

He said that the strategic communications plan the city recently adopted will help address information gaps and clarify staff roles. Plata said that the city has also implemented operational changes, such as a monthly meeting for all supervisors designed to increase information exchange across departments, and all-staff budget briefings tailored to employees, intended to ensure that employees at all levels receive thorough explanations of decisions.

However, he said that, broadly, the climate assessment found that employees were satisfied with city leadership and did not feel they were being treated unfairly. The total cost of the letter review and climate assessment was $13,597.50.

Plata, Fogo and Councilor Matt Schwartz met with Wilson following the conclusion of the climate assessment to discuss the results and share feedback, Plata said. “The City Manager has been responsive to the recommendations and is actively engaged in addressing them,” he said. “There is always room for improvement, and we welcome the opportunity to further enhance City operations.”

“I sincerely respect and support City Council’s decision to proceed with a climate assessment,” said Wilson. “I agree with the conclusion that communication and collaboration require continuous improvement, and I am committed to ensuring that our entire team has access to clear, accurate, and timely information.”

Plata, Fogo and Wilson all said that the city’s experience with the letter and the climate assessment has also been an education in the challenges of dealing with anonymous complaints.

“Beyond the recommendations provided by the consultant, City Council learned that effectively addressing anonymous complaints is inherently challenging,” said Plata.

Fogo said that, while she believed that the climate assessment process was effective and that the recommendations will help the city fulfill its commitment to transparent communication with employees and the public, “It has been hard to address the initial concerns more directly because we do not know the source of the allegations and cannot therefore address them with the person or persons providing the anonymous complaint.”

“Our team genuinely cares about the community we are fortunate to call home. They value transparency and remain committed to serving it to the best of their abilities,” Wilson said. “False, misleading, and selectively presented information on anonymous social media pages is hurtful to many people beyond me and erodes public trust. I am deeply disappointed by that impact.

“We will continue to work hard and encourage people, regardless of the nature of an issue, to raise concerns through direct, civil conversation and established processes.”