January 20, 2022

Beacon's First HR Director Resigns After 1.5 Years In Position: Instrumental In Bringing Firearm, Diversity, Etc. Policies

January 20, 2022/ Katie Hellmuth

Beacon’s first HR Director, Gina Basile, has resigned after one and a half years in the position. The position which started in July 2020 was originally shared between Fishkill and Beacon. Previously, she spent a number of years with the New York State Bridge Authority.

“I have heard employee concerns about discrimination, inequality, and growing tensions,” Gina stated in her printed presentation. “We need to address these issues head-on, and policies and procedures are only the beginning. We need a long-term plan on how to address these issues.””

— Gina Basile, then Beacon's HR Director

Then City Councilmembers including Terry Nelson expressed relief at hiring an HR Director to help with employment issues. Some issues include the ongoing employment issue the City is pursuing with Reuben Simmons in the Highway Department, which began with City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, who has since resigned to work for Dutchess County. Anthony was replaced by current City Administrator Chris White.

During her first public presentation to the City Council on December 14, 2020, Gina mentioned “many discussions with our employees about how they feel about working for the City,” ALBB reported at the time. At that time, she also met with the community group Beacon4Black Lives.

After holding a Meet and Greet with all department heads individually, she scheduled a Meet and Greet with the Fire Department, which needed to be rescheduled due to COVID-19-related issues. Gina held a Meet and Greet with the Highway Department, which is where she began her focus to discover overall themes employees experience when working for the City.

According to Gina’s presentation, several themes emerged, including:

“Concerns surrounding diversity and equality.”
“Concerns regarding our Hiring Practices.”
“Growing Tensions in the Workplace.”
“Lack of clarity in intra-departmental policies and inconsistency.”

Gina confirmed: “I have heard employee concerns about discrimination, inequality, and growing tensions,” Gina stated in her printed presentation. “We need to address these issues head-on, and policies and procedures are only the beginning. We need a long-term plan on how to address these issues.”

A few of Gina’s next public steps were to introduce new policies that the City of Beacon had not had before, including a Firearms Policy, Domestic Violence Policy and Diversity and Inclusion Policy. While some City Councilmembers expressed surprise that anyone would bring a firearm to work, they assumed it occurred in the police department. However, there has been an unreported instance of an employee casually bringing a firearm to work in another department, during a time of increased employment tension.

Gina has accepted the position of Talent Acquisition Manager at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Gina had also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Hyde Park, according to her LinkedIn.

January 19, 2022

Beacon Paid $50,452 To Willing and Able Highway Department Employee To Not Work

January 19, 2022/ Katie Hellmuth

In 2021, the City of Beacon paid $50,452 of admin leave to Reuben Simmons, an employee with the Highway Department who is of mixed race and identifies as Black. ALBB has confirmed this amount with Reuben when we asked if he would make public his payments from the city for 2021. This is as per union rules as Reuben understands them, when an employee is presented with a discipline, the City can give up to 30 days suspension without pay, after which the employee is placed back on payroll while the process continues. Reuben has been served with 2 disciplines totaling 60 days over a course of at least 8 hearings with the City and their attorneys.

Reuben has worked for the City of Beacon in the Highway Department since 2002, where he started in the Summer Help position. He worked his way up to Laborer, then Maintenance Worker. During that time, he was appointed Union President for the City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 Unit 6662.

In 2017, Reuben was appointed Highway Superintendent, the lead position in that department, by then Mayor Randy Casale, with the support of then City Administrator, Anthony Ruggiero. In 2018, Dutchess County reached out to the City of Beacon to let the City know that the job title was incorrect, and that Superintendent of Streets was the proper title, but required a different Civil Service exam to qualify for the position. Fellow employee Michael “Micki” Manzi qualified for the test, and replaced Reuben as Superintendent of Streets. All of the people mentioned here except Reuben are white. To this day, the job title is stated on the City of Beacon’s website as Highway Superintendent.

During this transition under the management of then City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, Reuben was not given the opportunity to take the required Civil Service exam in order to accept or maintain his job position of Highway Superintendent. Extending this opportunity to someone in an existing role is not unheard of in the City of Beacon. Listen to Reuben tell it in his own words on the “Wait, What Is That?” podcast.

For example: at the 5/17/2021 City Council Meeting, current City Administrator Chris White announced that longtime Water Department employee Ed Balicki, who is white, would become Superintendent of Water and Sewers. “We are moving Ed to the proper title,” explained City Administrator White to the City Council at that meeting. “Ed will have to take a Civil Service Exam…We don't think there will be any issue.” Ed passed the exam, and was re-titled.

In Reuben’s case, he was stripped of his title, and demoted back down to Maintenance Worker, then promoted to Working Supervisor, and demoted to Maintenance Worker within a 2 year period. During the first week of January 2021, he was placed on his first round of unpaid leave, and the order of City Administrator Chris, accompanied by a stack of charges against him signed by City Administrator Chris, which ALBB did see documentation of. These charges amounted to lists of generalities of what intersections Reuben was accused of not doing work, returning late from lunch, and an auto accident that Reuben reported to his supervisor Michael Manzi by way of announcing it on the Highway Department radio, and again in a later discussion, according to Reuben.

Auto accidents are not uncommon in the Highway Department, or other departments within the City of Beacon where vehicles are driving by city employees. What is not disclosed by the City of Beacon is when these auto accidents happen, and if they are reported. For example, the public is not informed of when the new Highway Garage gets a dent in a garage door,, for instance, or if an employee did get into a fender bender, and if that incident got reported or not. Additionally, the public is not regularly informed when an employee resigns or is fired, but the public is informed of each new hire when that employee is presented to the City Council the night of a vote to hire them.

Recently, two employees of the administration resigned, which were announced during City Council Meetings: Beacon’s first HR Director, Gina Basile, who left after a year and seven months on the job, according to her LinkedIn, and the Mayor’s Assistant, Collin Milone.

Gina was tasked with reviewing the Highway Department’s work atmosphere, and found it to be troubled: “Beacon’s New HR Director Hears From City Employees About Discrimination, Inequality, Growing Tensions; Suggests Solutions; Begins With Highway Department.”

Shortly thereafter, a Diversity and Inclusions Statement was presented and passed in the City of Beacon, when then City Councilmember Air Nonken Rhodes stated: “This isn’t lip service.”

The City of Beacon has hosted at least 8 hearings against Reuben in 2021, which involve the city’s labor attorney and an arbitrator. During the 8th meeting, the City of Beacon actively closed the meeting to the media, by requesting that ALBB leave the call (ALBB was sent an invite to the hearing via Zoom by the arbitrator at Reuben’s request). The city attorney stated that the meeting was closed, and that Reuben had wanted it closed. Reuben denied that, stating that he wanted the hearings open to the public from the beginning, and then stated it again in an article on ALBB.

During this time, In 2021 alone, the City of Beacon under the direction of City Administrator Chris has made two transfers to cover unplanned costs from unrelated areas of the budget to another area of the budget called “Employee Discipline,” bringing that unbudgeted total to over $110,000.

Reuben was put on unpaid leave in January 2021 for a 30 day period, followed by a second 30 day unpaid leave period for disciplinary reasons. The City of Beacon has not made public what those disciplinary reasons are (though ALBB has seen the first stack of the vague charges), or why they have spent so much money for a willing and able Highway Department employee to not work for over a year, during a national labor shortage. During the summer of 2021, the City of Beacon could not completely fill the 6 Summer Jobs it seasonally fills to fill its department.

December 16, 2021

Over $111,000 Unplanned City of Beacon Dollars Spent On "Employee Discipline" Matter(s) - What's Going On?

December 16, 2021/ Katie Hellmuth

According to locals living in Beacon for decades, the City of Beacon is not known for firing city employees. When the you, you might find out by clicking refresh on the latest FOILs that were published by the City of Beacon. You certainly will hear about new hires and promotions by the City of Beacon during their weekly City Council Meetings, where City Councilmembers usually need to vote on a hire or promotion.

But if anyone is being fired, you will not hear about it. Such decisions are made in private during something called “Executive Session” which is a private meeting with the City Council that the public has no access to.

To seek information, just ask several people who know people who have worked for the City of Beacon over the past few decades. In these stories, you may hear stories of a white employee(s) testing positive for marijuana before it was legal to smoke in public or banned in Beacon’s public parks. You may hear stories of a vehicle accident that was never reported. Or of a gun casually being brought into a department destination before Beacon banned personal guns from being brought onto city property during work hours last year. You might see bent metal on the garage door of new Highway Garage, indicating that a vehicle backed or rammed into it, but that a collision report never made it into the books. On background, ALBB has seen a few photos, and heard from people with knowledge of such examples.

During the 12/13/2021 Monday Night Workshop Meeting, the City Administrator Chris White put forth to the City Council an approval to move $45,900 more dollars from an unrelated area of the budget - a real estate area of the budget - into a legal section of the budget to cover “associated employee discipline beyond the budget to date,” as noted in the proposal included in the Agenda packet for the City Council to review for the record.

This is not the first transfer of thousands of unplanned dollars for “Employee Discipline” during the pandemic, which has resulted in a nation-wide labor shortage and highlight of poor working conditions that may include emotional abuse in several industries. The first noted transfer of unplanned dollars was $66,418 to “Employee Discipline” from “CSEA Union Matters/FIRE IAFF Union Matters,” which ALBB wrote about here. This brings the total of unplanned spending on “Employee Discipline” to over $111,000 by the City of Beacon for 2021 alone.

The second noted proposed transfer tonight of $45,900 to “Employee Discipline” is being transferred from “In REM Sale of Property.”

What is an REM Sale of Property? An “REM Sale of Property” means, as City Administrator Chris White explained during the meeting, that when the City of Beacon takes control of a property in Beacon usually due to inability to pay, the City of Beacon can then resell that property and keep the profit. In 2020, there was a handful of those properties. In 2021, Chris noted, there was one such property. Therefore, they had real estate cash sitting that apparently had not been earmarked yet.

Who Or What Is The Employee Discipline Of Over $111,000 In 2021 For?

Reuben Simmons, former Highway Superintendent and current employee of the City of Beacon in the Highway Department.
*Photo Credit:* *LinkedIn*

The City of Beacon will not answer this question if ALBB were to ask, as they have a blanket policy of not answering to “personnel matters.” However, there is at least one employee who has had at least 8 Employee Discipline Hearings this year, and has been on forced paid and unpaid leave for the entirety of 2021: Reuben Simmons. ALBB sat in on at least one of those hearings.

Reuben Simmons, longtime employee in the Highway Department since 2002, and a Beaconite who is an involved member of the community, was Beacon’s former Highway Superintendent (ie lead position in that department, listen to ALBB’s podcast about it here) and has been the subject of Employee Discipline for quite some time. Starting in 2018, his case has taken unusual twists and turns. Including the dissolving of his job as Highway Superintendent based on a Civil Service technicality of the incorrect job title.

Beacon’s current head of the Highway Department, Superintendent of Streets Michael “Mickey” Manzi, who used to serve under Reuben as a staff member, replaced Reuben as head of the department after Reuben’s job title dissolved. According to documents that ALBB has seen, Michael “Mickey” Manzi continues to find fault in Reuben’s past work performance, and writes him up on charges that the City Administrator Chris White justifies for Reuben’s paid or unpaid leave status.

Those charges resulted in at least two 30-day periods of unpaid leave in 2021. Otherwise, Reuben has been kept on paid leave, but according to a letter sent to him by City Administrator Chris White, cannot come to public spaces in Beacon or talk to fellow employees within the working hours of the work day, until his disciplinary hearings are done. ALBB has attended one such hearing at the invitation of Reuben and received the Zoom link from the mediation attorney Jay Siegel, Esq., but was asked to leave when the City of Beacon objected to any reporters or members of the public attending.

What Are These “Charges” Justifying Unpaid Leave, Paid Leave, and Over $111,000 In Unplanned “Employee Discipline” Money?

Labor Attorney for the City of Beacon, Lance Klein, who is going against city employee Reuben Simmons.
*Photo Credit:* *Keane and Beane*

ALBB has seen the documentation of charges sent to Reuben, attempting to justify the “discipline,” which ALBB has learned amounts to accusations of things like talking to people for too long outside while on the job, or taking too long of a lunch.

Lunch for the Highway Department employees, ALBB is told, is 30 minutes. Which really just gives enough time to order and go from Mr. V’s and eat it in a Highway Department truck.

Witnesses have been called to at least 8 hearings deliberating Reuben’s case, where the City’s attorney Lance Klein of Keane and Beane questions those people included in the charges. Some of those witnesses have denied the charges and length of time that Reuben has spoken to them while outside on the job, or the logistics of a long lunch time that deserves penalty.

Current Beacon Superintendent of Streets, Michael “Mickey” Manzi. Writes up charges against Reuben resulting in new Unpaid Leave statuses for Reuben as Reuben’s hearings to defend himself progress.
*Photo Credit:* *City of Beacon*

One example of a disputed charge against Reuben is allegedly talking to a member of the public in Memorial Park (which is also the location of a Highway Department shed) for 2 hours. The witness for this charge allegedly denied it during the hearing when questioned by Lance the attorney.

If Reuben and this member of the public did speak for any number of moments, then a policy of any Highway Department employee speaking to any member of the public while out on public city streets, sidewalks, or parks would be in violation of some policy in the City of Beacon, would seem odd, counter-intuitive of an inclusive community and unproductive. Members of the public are not allowed to speak to city employees while on the job? Or risk getting written up if on the wrong side of a supervisor? Those supervisors being Michael “Mickey” Manzi and David Way.

In addition to speaking to members of the public in public, Reuben has also been accused of taking an extended lunch break. Lunch breaks for the City of Beacon are 30 minutes. Any moment after that due to long lunch lines or traffic could qualify as a violation equal to this treatment.

Members Of The Public Begin Speaking Out

City of Beacon Employee for the Highway Department, Reuben Simmons, speaks out about his communication with the City of Beacon. Reuben is currently on a rotation of forced unpaid and paid leave by the City of Beacon as they hold “Employee Discipline” hearings against him. There have been at last 8 Employee Discpline hearings so far, and a total of $111,000 of unplanned city budget money transfered in the City of Beacon budget to cover unplanned “Employee Discipline” legal expenses.

After years of silence, Reuben spoke out at a recent City Council meeting, addressing the elephant in the room - himself. He spoke directly and was well spoken in his thoughts, as he was when presenting city street status updates to the public and City Council during his time as Highway Superintendent from 2017-2018.

The City Council often meets in private Executive Sessions discussing “Personnel” and “Litigation” and have the legal protection of not disclosing who or what they are talking about.

Reuben - who is Black and is one of the few Black employees in the public works departments - has also been accused of speaking loudly to his supervisor Michael “Mickey” Manzi while voluntarily reporting an accident Reuben had in a City vehicle. According to multiple sources, Mickey, the Highway Department’s Superintendent of Streets who used to be Reuben’s employee years ago, found Reuben’s tone uncomfortable. Therefore, Mickey added the tone to the charges justifying unpaid leave.

This issue with “tone” is despite rumors from multiple people - in a generational age range - that several in the Beacon public works departments speak gruffly to each other on a regular basis, possibly even using racial slurs. Those direct mentions have not yet come to light yet in any public confessions.

It is notable that when Reuben was first placed on unpaid leave in January 2021 for the pursuit of these charges, the City of Beacon unveiled it’s Diversity Statement months prior in October 2020, where Beacon’s newly hired HR Director, Gina Basile, noted there was tension in the Highway Department.

During the City Council Meeting on December 6, 2021, longtime hawk of city government and regular participant in Public Comment, Theresa Kraft, spoke up. Not naming names, she made allusions: “Beacon is a strong, supportive community. It always has been, and always will be. We watch out for our neighbors. But enforcement is key [referencing to the spike in unlawful driving in Beacon and the recent death on Main Street and Teller Avenue]. I question how much the city wasted on litigation of an employee who took too long of a lunch break. I see at the end of tonight's agenda there is an executive Session for Personal and Litigation. Perhaps that alone could have paid to ease the food insecurity throughout Beacon for a few years. Holding a grudge is holding all Beacon residents hostage.” You can listen to her full speech here.

Background On Reuben’s Unpaid/Paid Leave - An Additional Expense To The City Of Beacon

Beacon’s City Administrator, Chris White, who authorized Reuben’s first round of 30-days of paid leave on Chris’ first week on the job.
*Photo Credit:* *City of Beacon*

Starting in January 2021, Reuben was placed on unpaid leave for more than one session of a 30-day unpaid leave status by City Administrator Chris White. Unpaid leave is difficult at any time, but for a Highway Department employee, January is the gravy month. It is the month they make overtime pay in plowing days during blizzards.

When not on unpaid leave, Reuben remains on paid leave. Unless new charges are filed against him, and he gets a new letter from City Administrator Chris White stating that he is on unpaid leave again.

The Union protecting and advocating for Highway Department Employees is CSEA. In January, Beacon’s representative and president was Paula Becker, who works as an employee in the Finance Department for the City of Beacon with Susan Tucker, Beacon’s Finance Director who signs off on these budget recommendations. Paula recently received a promotion and raise from the City of Beacon.

When ALBB called Paula to confirm Reuben’s unpaid status back when it started in January 2021, City Administrator Chris White emailed ALBB to say that ALBB should not contact any staff with questions, and to only address him. After publishing an article on this matter, City Administrator Chris White declined to answer any more questions from ALBB on any matter.

Listen to Reuben explain the start of his employment situation on ALBB’s podcast recorded in July 2020 here. His employment disputes started in 2018.

March 04, 2021

"Beacon's Water Department Is A Completely Caucasian Department... Some Of Their [Highway Department Employees'] Behaviors Are Questionable"

March 04, 2021/ Katie Hellmuth

For the record, since this statement was made about the Water Department being “completely Caucasian,” on September 21, 2020, a person of Color may have been hired to the Water Department.

Question On “Behaviors Are Questionable” Expanded Upon

Stefon Seward, a founding member of Beacon4BlackLives and an appointed committee member to the Beacon Police Chief Search Committee, called in to that September 21, 2020 night of the City Council Meeting to voice his concerns about the promotions in the Highway Department.

He stated: “I'm calling to talk about the 3 individuals that are going to get a raise, who you are voting on today. I think you should put a freeze on that, because some of their behaviors are questionable. I think there should be a little more talk before they get that raise.”

A Little Beacon Blog inquired about what behaviors Stefon was referring to. In an earlier podcast recorded this summer at “Wait, What Is That?” ALBB learned from Reuben Simmons, a Highway Department employee, that Steve Bechtold had brought a personal gun to work on company time, making other employees uncomfortable. Reuben, who is Black, emailed management Michael (Micky) Manzi about it. Michael is the current department head (Reuben used to be his boss, but was demoted on a job title technicality), Superintendent of Streets. Michael emailed back that Steve would be told not to bring the firearm to work in the future.

Reuben requested to have Michael’s email about the gun included in Reuben’s personnel file, but City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero declined that request, Reuben told ALBB.

The bringing in of the gun was about 6 months after Reuben filed a harassment claim against Steve in 2019, after Steve allegedly circulated an unsanctioned petition which advocated to have Reuben not be on a negotiation committee for the Highway Department’s new contract, which has remained unsigned after it expired (the City of Beacon’s website links to a latest contract of 2015), and is up for renewal any day, or whenever it makes it to the next agenda of the public City Council meetings.

According to Reuben, who served as CSEA Union President from 2009 to 2017, Steve made an assumption that Reuben was on the negotiation committee, and Steve did not want him there, so he had written a petition and circulated it around to the white employees of the Highway Department, without showing it to the 2 other Black employees also in the Highway Department, according to Reuben.

Reuben learned about the petition, and went to the department’s current Union President, Paula Becker, about it, who allegedly said she did not know about the petition. “My issue was that if you're going to petition,” Reuben told ALBB, “show it to everybody so that it's fair.”

Paula works for the City of Beacon as a staff member, in addition to serving as the Union President for CSEA. The union structure is to have the president also be an employee of the city. When A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Paula in her capacity as union president to confirm a future development concerning Reuben’s current employment status with the City of Beacon, the current City Administrator Chris White (Chris replaced Anthony Ruggiero in January 2021) gave instruction not to contact any staff about these issues, and to contact him directly. Chris also did not comment as to Reuben’s current employment status.

According to Reuben, the 2 other Black employees were then shown the petition, and did not sign. The petition allegedly was delivered to Paula’s desk. Superintendent Manzi knew about the petition, Reuben said, as he and Manzi discussed it during a meeting with then-Mayor Randy Casale in his office. “Management [Michael Manzi] should not have been influencing and condoning this behavior,” Reuben told ALBB. Current Mayor Lee Kyriacou was a city councilmember at the time.

To follow up on the harassment claim rooted in the petition against Steve, then-City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero inquired with Paula to see the petition, but that time he was told that this was a Union issue, and protected under certain laws, according to Reuben. No one saw the petition after that, according to Reuben. He said that the City of Beacon, by way of City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, did not investigate the harassment claim, citing that there was no physical evidence of its existence.

Months later, when the gun was allegedly brought to work, Reuben did not seek to file another harassment claim because of how his first claim was handled. Reuben still wonders why the petition to keep him off a committee was circulated, since he was not on the negotiation committee in the first place, he told ALBB.

It should be noted that the City Administrator works with a labor attorney on these issues. In this issue, the City was working with Lance H. Klein of Keane & Beane, the law firm that the city works with on real estate, labor, etc. When ALBB first started reaching out to get more information on this employment story in the summer of 2020, City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero could not answer all of our questions, and CCed the labor attorney Lance Klein on the responses, and offered to have a phone call instead.

This year, City Administrator Chris White has also offered to have a phone call in response to questions asked about job titles, and has decided that until an in-person conversation about how ALBB writes articles happens, after the publication of yesterday’s article “During Hot Mess Of Water Department Hires, Beacon Passes Diversity and Inclusion Statement,” he will not be answering any questions from ALBB.

“Completely Caucasian Department” - Diversity Needed

Now that we have partially unpacked that issue from 2019, let’s get back to September 21, 2020, the night of the City Council meeting and votes for Highway Department promotions. Stefon went on to state: “We need more diversity in the Water Department. It is a completely Caucasian department, and that's a little scary, being that we are a diverse town. I feel that we need to have a diversity look in every walk of life, everything we do for our town.”

A Little Beacon Blog looked into the demographics of the Water Department. The City of Beacon will not release stats, even when we asked about the demographics of the Police Department and were told by then-City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero to submit a FOIL to get the information. The FOIL was apparently ignored. This was before the City of Beacon published all of the names of the police officers on their website, after pressure from the national Black Lives Matter movement that went local on Beacon’s Main Street in the form of protests, emails, and calls into public City Council meetings, along with the New York State ordered re-imagining of the policing in the community with Executive Order 203.

To get an idea of the demographics, we asked for thoughts from Reuben Simmons, who has worked for the City of Beacon since 2002, and who served as the union president for the City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 unit 6662 from 2009 to 2017. His response: “I did look into it a few years ago while I was the union president, because an employee from the Water Department who was white was uncomfortable with racial slurs being spoken regularly by Water Department employees, including supervisors, in reference to other city employees who were Black. It resulted in me having to have an employee transferred from the Water Department to the Highway Department.”

City of Beacon Regulates Personal Guns In The Workplace in 2021

On December 14, 2020, during a City Council workshop meeting, Beacon’s new HR Director, Gina Basile, introduced new policies that she wanted the City of Beacon to adopt, one being a Firearms Policy. The Firearms Policy states that City employees cannot bring personal guns or weapons of any kind, including knives that are 4 inches or longer, and cannot store them on City property (ie inside of a locker or vehicle).

During that December 14, 2020, public City Council meeting, the councilmembers pondered the ramifications of this for Police Officers, wondering if this was confusing with their professional guns used for work. Gina and Anthony advised that there was no crossover; guns assigned for work were fine. The City Councilmembers were mostly certain that no person would bring a personal gun to work, but Councilperson Dan Aymar-Blair said that he had received a complaint from a constituent about a police officer bringing a personal gun to work.

Councilmember Jodi McCredo’s Statement To Pause Highway Department Promotions, Wanting More Information

Councilmember Jodi McCredo has been aware of the employee tensions in the Highway Department for some time, as have other councilmembers and Mayor Lee Kyriacou. Years ago, Jodi was the subject of a hand-delivered, unsigned letter written in the first person (using the word “I”) but from the Highway Department at large, delivered to her front porch.

That letter described discontent using ill logic at the appointment of a fellow employee, Reuben Simmons, to the position of Highway Superintendent (which he was later stripped of, using Civil Service rules to legally do so). The letter stated that the appointment did not encourage promoting “from within,” despite Reuben being a current employee. It was if he did not exist. A Little Beacon Blog has seen that letter, and published it along with the podcast here. At the time years ago, Jodi brought in the letter to a private Executive Session meeting, not knowing what to do with it, she told ALBB.

The results of that letter campaign resulted in Dutchess County telling the City of Beacon that Reuben did not have the qualifications to hold the Superintendent of Streets title because he “never held a supervisors title.” Thereby moving him and his salary back down to Maintenance Worker. The Superintendent of Streets position went to Michael (Micky) Manzi after Mark, the City’s first candidate off the Dutchess County list, turned the job down, according to Reuben.

Michael Manzi currently holds the position today. Back then, on February 4, 2019, Jodi was part of a unanimous public City Council vote for Michael’s promotion, where before casting it, she turned to the audience in the courtroom and asked: “What do you guys think?” She was met with shouts of agreement and applause, which can be seen on the Council video here at the bottom of the page. Jodi has gone on to say to ALBB that the letter “had absolutely no influence on any decisions.”

Back to September 21, 2020, with the promotion of the 3 Highway Department employees on the agenda for the evening. Jodi was not so sure this time. Resulting from Stefon’s comments, and having the prior experience of not knowing details and then learning them later, Jodi moved forward with speaking about her hesitation concerning the promotions. She stated:

“Stefon Seward mentioned a couple of things that I want to address: He spoke about people getting raises today. I want to clarify - “ At this point in her statement, then City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, who has since left this job for another in Dutchess County, attempted to interrupt her to stop her from speaking with an "Um…".

Normally, the City Administrator likes the Council to not discuss personnel issues in public, but Jodi continued and kept speaking.

“It’s not an issue with a raise, it's an issue with a promotion because of position. But I also want to go back to something I have said in the past many times, which is I really don't feel comfortable voting on things like that without having all of the information. I don't know what it was he [Stefon] was referring to when he said what he said. Now I am in a position again where I do feel uncomfortable about this and I do think it is something we need to talk about.

“I'm just going to throw that out there because if I'm not in the situation and people aren't coming to me, I don't know what questions to ask, and it's a little awkward. I also want to put out to the public if you do have information that you think Councilmembers should have before a vote, please share that information with us. You have our phone numbers and you have our email addresses. Contact us, talk to us. Inform us. Nine times out of 10 we don't know, and that helps us know what questions to ask and what information to look for. I'm not saying anything about what he said specifically, because I have no idea. But the point is, I have no idea. And I probably should.”

All of the other City Council Members agreed to table the promotion, and Air Nonken Rhodes made an enthusiastic motion to move the discussion to Executive Session, where it could be further discussed in private.

There are times when people do know or are told about something, but may not be presented with paper documentation to prove something without a doubt, and then the information gets dismissed, contributing to a silent segregation. During this time, decades after the Civil Rights movement resulted in laws that are intended to prevent discrimination, actions taken even within those laws can still create a form of silent segregation that is harder to prove.

While the City of Beacon recently apparently hired a person of Color in the Water Department - Ricardo Brown - Mayor Kyriacou stated the night of that vote that diversity was added. Not only has the City of Beacon not confirmed with A Little Beacon Blog what Ricardo’s job title is - after a possible mix-up on the City’s agenda for Justin Herring (the agenda said Justin was Water and Sewer Superintendent but Edward Balicki is currently listed as that, even though Ed’s LinkedIn has him listed as Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator at City of Beacon) - having true diversity means to embrace others, to listen to them, and believe them. Call them back after a job interview. Include an email complaint in a personnel file.

As to the confusing development of Water Department job titles after October 5, 2020’s meeting to hire employees, City Administrator Chris White has declined to provide confirmation.

Diversity Is Not Guaranteed By A PDF On A Wall Or Website

Any city can put up a PDF of a Diversity and Inclusion Statement on the City of Beacon on a wall or on a website, but that’s not a guarantee that diversity or even fairness and decency are happening. Not when complaints are ignored, dodged and delayed with FOIL requests. When Mayor Lee Kyriacou said that Beacon delivered diversity on October 5, 2020, with the hire of one person of Color, that does not make the diversity cup even half-full.

Diversity is speaking up against a vote. It is believing a story. It is asking questions about a story in public to find more connections in order to believe it. Diversity is being anti-racist, which means that you are actively speaking up against something that feels like a person was just made to feel invisible, and then became invisible, with a legal checkmate of a demotion. Diversity means to question current Civil Service laws, to see if they are working as intended, or if they are protecting a comfort level that doesn’t serve all equally.

And these are only the stories we know about. When a City does not comment to confirm a story told at a City Council meeting, like when Wendel Henson called in to say that he was interviewed for a position in the Water Department and was never contacted after that, these stories will require paper documentation, which the City will not release, and the reader will be left to wonder. Which often leads to doubt, but then fades away.

Silent segregation.

March 03, 2021

During Hot Mess Of Water Department Hires, Beacon Passes Diversity and Inclusion Statement

March 03, 2021/ Katie Hellmuth

Beacon’s Presentation Of Its Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement

Beacon’s Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement, posted on the new Human Resources page, like a shield. Job Postings are now listed underneath this document.

The City of Beacon signed into law a Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement on October 5, 2020. It came on an evening where the City of Beacon was announcing 2 new appointed hires to the Water Department: Justin Herring as Water and Sewer Superintendent, and Ricardo Brown as a Water and Sewer Maintenance Worker. During the presentation of the Diversity statement, the term “we’ve got work to do” was used several times. Councilperson Air Nonken Rhodes made a point to say: “This isn’t lip service.”

On the same evening, Mayor Lee Kyriacou also announced the hiring of Beacon’s new Human Resources (HR) Director, Gina Basile, who was hired on July 20, 2020 and previously worked as Human Resources Manager for the New York State Bridge Authority. She wanted the diversity statement published, which is currently included on the new main page of the Human Resources page, like a shield. You can read the Diversity and Inclusion Statement here, or it has been republished below for easy reading.

Mayor Kyriacou told the public: “We hired a professional HR person, Gina. We're not a big city; it's the first time we're doing this. We are sharing it with the Town of Fishkill. I look for sharing opportunities with the Town of Fishkill. I thank Gina for her work recently. Makes a difference on the messages we communicate to our managers, to our staff, and to our community as a whole.”

Public Calls In To Question The Hiring Process Of Water Department Hires

Two people called in to the public City Council Meeting on October 5, 2020, asking about the Water Department hiring process:

Stefon Seward, a founding member of Beacon4Black Lives and appointee to the Police Chief Search Committee who identifies as Black, asked about the City’s expectations about that Water Department position, plus the Highway Superintendent position.
The second caller was Weldon Henson, who called at the end of the meeting during the second opportunity for public comment, in order to express that he interviewed for an advertised Water Department job with Beacon’s new HR Director, Gina Basile, on August 26, 2020, but was never contacted after that. A Little Beacon Blog has reached out to Gina and the current City Administrator Chris White for confirmation, and received this response from Chris: “We do not comment on interviews and personnel issues.” ALBB would like to verify with Weldon, and if he is reading this, please feel free to reach out.

The callers’ questions, and the City’s answers, have been transcribed in full below. Because of their questions, more was expressed about the hiring process of city jobs, otherwise known as the Civil Service process. The hiring and firing process of city employees is hard to follow, namely because most discussions about them happen during Executive Session, which is a private meeting that happens after the public City Council meeting. Reporters reaching out with questions are usually told: “You’ll need to submit a FOIL,” (former Administrator Anthony Ruggiero told us this), or “The City does not comment on personnel items” (what current Administrator Chris White said to ALBB). Questions to the HR Director Gina Basile usually go unanswered, or she defers to someone else on staff.

Was The Water Department Job Posted Internally?
What Is The Hiring Process?

During the City Council meeting, questions were raised about if the Water Department job(s) were posted internally. It is not clear where that would be posted, or what the requirements are for that posting. As of today, there are job listings on the city website’s Human Resources Page, which is a new page for the City of Beacon. It is unknown if people are expected to refresh the page daily for new listings, or refresh a Dutchess County Civil Service employment page, or if employees are expected to simply notice flyers on the wall while they are walking by (if they are walking by), thereby putting the responsibility on them to see internal listings. It is unknown if emails are sent out to any lists, or if announcements are made in Department meetings, if such meetings happen.

The City Administrator last year, Anthony Ruggiero, explained that the job for the Water Department was posted internally at first, before being advertised publicly. After Anthony’s explanation, City Councilmember Amber Grant asked one more time about the internal posting before the final vote on the appointments of two people into the Water Department titles. This question of an internal posting seemed to be of high interest during the meeting.

In the past, and for another department, when asked if he knew about a Highway Department job opening, Reuben Simmons, a Maintenance Worker for the Highway Department, answered that he was not aware of open positions in the Highway Department toward the end of 2020 that were mentioned during City Council meetings in ways that indicated people were already being considered for the positions by the current Highway Supervisor, Michael (Micky) Manzi.

Reuben was the Highway Superintendent before Dutchess County told the City of Beacon that his job title did not exist - even though the former Mayor Randy Casale also held that job title decades ago - despite being recommended by and approved of by Anthony Ruggiero. Reuben was thereby demoted back down to Maintenance Worker, and Michael Manzi, a former co-worker, became Highway Superintendent of Streets. A slightly different job title that comes with a different required test and certification. It’s like being called “Boss” or “Boss The Boss,” with different tests to prove worthiness of either job title, but with similar (or the same) job responsibilities.

The “job title” question reference is notable because a single word change in a job title can alter someone’s career. Chances are, you don’t have to deal with this at your job. But City of Beacon employees do. The wording in a job title can mean that you lose almost everything that you have been working up for, if someone else wants your job and uses Civil Service rules to checkmate you out. Your job title and duties could change in the blink of a Resolution.

About The Hiring Process for City Employees, AKA “Civil Service” Jobs

The questions of Stefon and Weldon are transcribed below from the recorded City Council meeting. The previous City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero was always patient with explaining how the process works. The results of that process, however, can be surprising.

Stefon Steward: “I'm just curious if the titles on the agenda for the new hires are correct, and if they are, did the City consider hiring someone internally for this position? I was looking at the website... It says that Ed is on the Water and Waste Department. I want to know what Department does he manage, and does he have the proper license to run this plant and do this job? What are the duties and responsibilities for the Highway Superintendent. What are the City's expectations for this? Is it true that one of the appointees' family members, Justin Herring, has… The family does business with Beacon, is anyone getting any financial kickback from his appointment for his position?”

Ed Balicki, shown on the City of Beacon’s website as Water and Wastewater Superintendent on 3/2/2021. Justin Herring was appointed to his position on 10/5/2020.

Toward the end of the City Council Meeting, Anthony answered Stefon’s questions. As of today (March 2, 2021), Ed Balicki, who has worked for the City of Beacon since 2013 according to his LinkedIn profile, is listed on his LinkedIn as Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator at City of Beacon. But on the City of Beacon’s website, he is listed as Water and Wastewater Superintendent.

Yet this new job appointment is for Justin Herring to be Water and Sewer Superintendent. (Note the slight difference in words in the title there. That can play a major difference in Civil Service rules by disqualifying someone out of their current job.)

Further, according to Reuben Simmons of the Highway Department, Justin Herring was a candidate for the Operator or Maintenance worker position. In the Meeting Agenda, he is listed as Superintendent.

On March 2, 2021, ALBB has reached out to HR Director Gina Basile and City Administrator Chris White for confirmation of job titles since this October 5, 2020 meeting, and was told by Chris that a response would be forthcoming. This response of a job title confirmation so far has not come. If it does, this article will be updated. If you are reading this, then a response has not yet come.

Anthony Answers Questions Regarding The Job Title and Hiring Process

Anthony answered Stefon’s question: “Titles: Those titles are in the municipality known as Civil Service. There are ‘competitive,’ which means there is a list [of qualified people] where you have to take a test, and there are ‘non-competitive,’ where you don't [have to take a test.] These titles aren't, but by the Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA) contract, first you have to post them internally. If nobody applies internally, then you can go out and advertise.”

ALBB has inquired with the HR Director Gina Basile and the current City Administrator Chris White as to whether the City’s contract with CSEA is current. According to city employee Reuben Simmons, who served as a past Union President for the City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 unit 6662 from 2009 to 2017, the Highway Department contract has not been negotiated or signed since 2019. The current contract posted on the City’s Human Resources page as of today is dated 2010-2015, and looks to have been first uploaded to the City of Beacon’s website in October 2020. Which would seem to mean that the Water and Highway Departments are currently not in any contract.

Anthony continued: “In this particular case, that is what happened. Nobody applied internally, so we went out and advertised. Gina handled the process. As the Mayor indicated, she's creating something from nothing. She's trying to get organized. The department head prepares a memo to her ‘requesting this position is budgeted, I'd like to go through the process.’ It comes to me, we talk about it, and then I sign off on it. If it's OK, we go after the process. Gina takes it from there and advertises.

“She tries to make it as diverse as she can. As I was saying, she's creating a whole process as it is. She's got work to do, we've got work to do. She's been wonderful, by the way, let me just say.”

Anthony continued to address Stefon’s question about Herring: “They do not, from my understanding, do any work. They do haul. They do take their trucks and their haulers down to the wastewater treatment plant. We might rent some of the port-a-potties that we have in the parks, but that's to the extent that we know right now. Nobody's getting any kickbacks, certainly we will verify that. Certainly that has not happened.

“There was questions about some of the titles. Ed Balicki was switched up to the Water Department. He was handling both. His title was Chief Wastewater Operator. We do have to fix that title for him. He did go to school for Water Certifications and License, and also all the operators in the plants have all the license. So we are fully compliant.”

You can find this quote in minute 55 of the meeting video.

Question From An Apparent Applicant For The Water Department Position

At the end of the meeting, during the second opportunity for public comment, Weldon Henson called in to ask about what he describes as an un-responded-to interview he had for a job in the Water Department. His question is in minute 1:10 of the meeting video.

Weldon: “I didn't quite hear you on the Water Sewer Maintenance. Were they looking for inside Beacon or outside Beacon for the hiring?”

Anthony: “Both. First, the first part of the process is to advertise internally, within the workforce, and then to advertise externally to anybody, if nobody internally is interested. So then it goes outside. For these positions, there is no list. So you can just advertise and interview candidates.”

Weldon: “Oh, OK, because I was a resident that applied for the job, actually got the interview for the job, but I never heard or received anything back.”

Silence followed from the City Council.

Anthony: “I can follow up with Gina on that.”

Weldon: “I had the interview on August 26, 2020, I think it was a Wednesday at 12:30pm.”

Mayor Kyriacou: “OK. And Anthony, you are able to do that? And Colin (the Mayor’s Assistant) has it on the record.”

Weldon: “Thank you for your time.”

Mayor Kyriacou: “Of course.”

The Voting Of The Diversity And Inclusion Statement

Sometimes, councilpeople state their thoughts before or after passing a Resolution. Statements from two councilpeople are below:

Councilperson Air Nonken Rhodes: “This isn't just lip service. I've observed in the ways that I've seen the City operate behind the scenes, and in conversations around hiring, and in everyday work. This is something that everyone I've talked with really believes in. I'm really glad to see it put in writing here. This will be something we can aspire to and really live up to. I'm glad to see this enshrined, and something we can look to in every hiring process.”

Councilperson Jodi McCredo: “Like we've said with so many other issues, this is a starting point. We do realize that we have a ways to go. This is a nice guidance towards making those changes and improvements that need to be made.”

The Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement

Find this statement here, and it has been republished below for easy reading:

The City of Beacon is an equal opportunity workplace – and proudly so. We do not just accept differences – we embrace, support and celebrate them – knowing that diversity improves our performance and better serves our community.

The City of Beacon’s mission is to represent and serve all of our residents, including providing them with high quality services at reasonable taxes and fees, along with excellent customer service. The way we accomplish this is by representing everyone, listening to all ideas, and through the hard work and dedication of our employees.

We want to represent everyone. To do that well, we need a workforce that is representative of the community.

The City of Beacon is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our employees thrive when we achieve this. We aim to create a workplace that reflects and recognizes the diversity of our employees, and residents. We strive to provide services that benefit everyone in the community by including perspectives from backgrounds such as those that vary by race, ethnicity, social background, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, trans-gender status, veteran status, and national origin.

Having a diversified workforce builds a better team, enhances our skills, broadens our ideas, and is integral to effective performance.