Waukesha mayor reimburses city for book assignment. City administrator criticizes Scrima for actions, distractions. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 4/29/2011)
Excerpt: In order to avoid any suspicion of a conflict of interest, Mayor Jeff Scrima said Friday he had reimbursed the city the $428 paid to a campaign contributor for 30 books - books criticized by staff as covertly religious.
Meanwhile, City Administrator Lori Curtis Luther sent Scrima a memo Friday criticizing him for his actions and distractions.
"While you claim to have an interest in building team work and rapport," she wrote, "your actions are contrary to the goal."
The books, purchased for $428 from Gary Lato, a Scrima financial contributor, were given to department managers for reading and discussion at staff meetings. Last week, Police Chief Russell Jack objected to the book, "Sequencing: Deciphering Your Company's DNA," for its religious undertone in City Hall. The dispute became public, with Scrima challenging Jack to prove that it was religious in nature.
Scrima also called Jack hypocritical because the Police Department allows a volunteer Christian chaplain to use a desk and city electronic mailbox. Jack said the chaplain provides stress-related counseling and death notifications, not religion, in this volunteer capacity.
The "Sequencing" book's author, Michael Metzger, has described "Sequencing" on his DoggieHeadTilt blog in religious terms, saying it has "Christianity latent" with "words drawn from the board room but derived from the Bible."
And while Scrima said there is nothing religious about the book, a full-page picture on page 114 is of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross, Luther noted Friday.
Related article:
City managers book discussion group. (4/23/2011)
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