Matthew Kolysko, San Clemente
Calling all San Clemente volunteers, your help is wanted/needed. Oh wait, literally, for 90-plus days and counting and maybe we’ll let you wait some more.
Really? I have to write to the elected San Clemente City Council members, copy the city manager, the assistant city manager, the head of the San Clemente Human Resources Department, the local papers, and, to keep in the loop, the city’s emergency coordinator, who seems to be the only one on the ball with her hands tied, all because someone or somebody in the city of San Clemente’s Human Resource Department has not processed, is too busy to process, refuses to process, is unable to process, doesn’t know how to process, or has lost the ability to process, applications for volunteerism. This began more than 90 days ago. If this is the norm, please forgive me for this letter, as I will volunteer my time so that any other San Clemente residents’ request and background check will be processed in a timely manner. Residents want to know why it takes so long to be processed to volunteer their precious resources and time.
If the Human Resources Department needs a model by which their work flow and the public might interact near seamlessly, then I recommend that they look at the Building Department. It’s proven and works with the utmost of professionalism, clarity and expectancy.
Mr. Kolysko may have a legitimate gripe (if such a thing exists) about inadequacies in a city process. Is this the place for it? No. Uninformed whining in a public forum says more about Mr. Kolysko than those that have inconvenienced him.
I’ll also say his letter is asinine because he’s making an uninformed accusation towards individuals who might not be the reason for what bothers him so. This writer, however, does know that many city employees are overworked, under-appreciated, dissatisfied and stressed out while trying to work under the administration that has recently taken control.
Maybe it would have been worthwhile for Mr. Kolysko to do some digging. I’m betting he would have found his grievance was the result of incompetence and/or inaction from the decision-makers at the city, and not those who try day in and day out to put in an honest and diligent day of work in a city government that has fallen into disarray.
Shame on you, Mr. Kolysko, for being ignorant and provocative at the expense of those who work for your benefit.
Dear anonymous,
This may seem like whining to you. I’ll assume you’re one of the public servants that may have been part of this problem as your unwillingness to share your name. Here is my follow up letter to the City Managers office who where more than competent to not only rectify the issue, but to put into place ‘course corrections,’ to assure it doesn’t happen to another city resident willing to give of their time.
“Dear Managers,
Let this letter serve as witness to my experience and interactions with your office over the course of the last several days. The short of it, is that the issue was solved in the most professional, timely, and concerning way possible. From the first interaction through to the last I experienced nothing less and much, much more, than anybody would hope for from public servants. From your office assistant’s knowledge, attentiveness, and direction, to the Assistant Manager’s timely gathering of the facts, presentation and understanding of the facts, forthrightness and speedy resolution, my experience was nothing short of exemplary. It is people like the afore mentioned, working behind the scenes, that bring pride and strength to a city. They are to be commended.”
If I need to be put on the chopping block for bringing this issue to light, then so be it. If you think you can beat me down and silence residents that bring to attention inadequate/insufficient government, then think again my friend.
With respect.
Clearly, making assumptions is your thing. No one is trying to silence you, and I do not work for the city. I’m just choosing to defend those that labor in a dysfunctional work environment from outsiders that lob uninformed accusations. Perhaps those that are taking credit for “fixing” your issue are the individuals that created the issue in the first place. But feel free to blame whoever you see fit. Hopefully, bringing this petty issue to light will expose the bigger issues that plague our city government.