Controversy is everywhere in America these days, seems like.
For example. The controversy over flip-flops, at the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners work session yesterday.
Chancletas de baño, for those with Spanish heritage, such as County Commissioner Ronnie Maez. Or simply, chancletas.
The BOCC has been discussing the Employee Handbook for a few weeks now, and has seen a few revised versions of that document, as provided by Human Resources Director Mitzi Bowman. But not enough revisions, perhaps?
Previous discussions — in some cases, lengthy discussions — have touched on the the controversy of allowing employees to accumulate ‘comp time’ as an alternative to paying out ‘overtime’ wages. Other lengthy discussions have focused on the County dress code, and especially, on the controversy of allowable footwear, as described in the Handbook.
Commissioner Veronica Medina noted that an elected or appointed official will sometimes change his or her mind, on a controversial issue, when provided with compelling evidence.
“My favorite topic, as you know. The dress code. So, that was changed [in the Handbook] from the previous version that we had discussed…
“So I’m kind of going to go back a little bit. When we had originally talked about the Handbook, and I was adamantly opposed to allowing ‘comp time’… And [Transportation Director] Kevin Bruce and [Public Works Director] Mike Torres came before us and said, ‘I really feel like comp time is a good thing; it’s a benefit to our employees; and this is why…’
“It was very valuable for me, personally, to hear that, because I then took a hard look at it… and then we had a bigger discussion.
“I’m now in favor of comp time, with parameters; the parameters that we’ve already set out. So I’m good with that.
“Now, when we talk about the dress code, and appearance, and footwear policy… I haven’t heard anything from anybody, except from Derek [Woodman, County Manager]. And I’ve had a little bit of a conversation with you, Mitzi. I haven’t had any elected officials come forward and say, ‘Hey, this is why I feel that we shouldn’t’, or ‘This is why I feel so passionately about X, Y, and Z.’
Presumably, “X, Y, and Z” referred to the wearing of flip-flops by County employees, while on duty?
Ms. Bowman noted that she had, in fact, received a few comments about the proposed dress code revisions.
Commissioner Medina:
“This [Handbook] is the foundation, for the County, to let our employees know what we’re doing for them, and what our expectations are, of them… so it is an important document…
“So I’m going to go straight to my pet peeve. Flip-flops… And the verbiage was changed from the last revision, and I don’t know why. Just staff direction, or what happened? But it was changed. So I did a little more research, because I don’t want it to seem that I am…”
I couldn’t understand the next word, but I took it to mean, “making a fuss over nothing.”
Commissioner Medina:
“OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] specifically calls out flip-flops as ‘hazards’, for the reasons of ‘sharp, revolving objects; heat or cold; wet or slippery surfaces; chemicals; static discharge; electric shock.’ These are reasons why flip-flops cannot be worn in the workplace…”
Ms. Bowman suggested adding a sentence to the Handbook: “Flip-flops will not be worn.”
Commissioner Warren Brown:
“Hold on. I think that we need to be really careful here. For criminy sakes, we’re talking about shoes. If it’s not a health and safety issue — and I’m all about taking care of safety issues, but I’m not in favor of addressing pet peeves. We are not an OSHA state; the County doesn’t follow OSHA guidelines, as far as I’m aware. And frankly, there are some people working in our offices who prefer to wear flip-flops.
“Now, are we against flip-flops because they go between two toes? Or are we talking about all open toe shoes? If they are sandals? Should we think about eliminating anything that has more than a one-inch heel?
“I mean, if we are going to open up this ridiculous can of worms, and spend the enormous amount of time that we have spent on this — you know, I think we need to keep this in perspective. These policies are not laws; they are guidelines. Guidelines. That is what they are.
“And I don’t believe we can mandate other elected officials to enforce any policies that we have. I believe we can discipline employees who don’t follow the policies, but I think that’s a big can of worms to open up.
“So I just want to throw that out for a little bit of consideration, and maybe perspective. Thank you. I appreciate this discussion.”
That final comment may have been meant sarcastically, but maybe not.
Commissioner Medina:
“Well, I appreciate your passion for it, so what is your suggestion? What is your solution?”
Commissioner Brown:
“Well, I’m not sure there needs to be a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. I haven’t seen an overabundance of flip-flops being worn; I don’t know of any reported injuries or accidents that have been directly attributed to flip-flops.
“I think we have bigger fish to fry, and I don’t know if dress code policy is all that important. We have to keep things in perspective. When [Mike Torres] brought the comp time issues forward to us — yes, I agree with you, Commissioner Medina; that’s really valuable to hear from our employees.
“But I don’t think, just because we can, that we should — because no employee has come forward to comment on the flip-flop issue…
“I don’t think we should try to fix a problem that doesn’t exist…”
That’s going to be the general theme of this editorial series. People, especially elected and appointed officials, who may be trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.
And other people, trying to fix problems, that really do exist.
For instance. One of our local water districts — the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) — recently requested a joint meeting with our other water district, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD). That joint meeting will be held tomorrow at 4pm at the PAWSD offices on Lyn Avenue.
The agenda details certain ‘problems’ that appear vitally important to the nine-member SJWCD board of directors.
But perhaps, not to everyone?
Disclosure: I currently serve as a volunteer on the PAWSD Board of Directors, but this editorial series reflects only my own personal opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of any other Board members, or the PAWSD Board as a whole.