It is applaudable to see many veterans rallying around Bob Nelson with the hopes that their input will allow Mr. Nelson to keep his county job! My frustration is that there has not been the same community support for all of the community service employees.
When it was decided to merge Public Health and Social Services into one agency, now called Community Services, a business approach took a strong foothold. Under the direction of interim director Mark Liedl, Tim Houle, and Tamra Laska dramatic changes were made without any true understanding of the repercussions of them.
Has anyone in the community asked what knowledge the administration and the county board have of the daily work that is done by nurses, social workers, financial workers, child support workers and clerical staff? Or is it more important to demand that supervisors attend regular "bean counting" meetings?
How does a supervisor effectively do their job when they are not available to the employees they manage? How can a business model work with fields that are not business oriented? They are human oriented. Community Services does not care if a customer receives a well presented Culver's meal. They want to provide services that will bring dignity, help and long term solutions for individuals that need assistance.
I believe that if you were to ask any of the Community Services workers what it is now like to do their jobs, you will hear anger/sadness/frustration. It is only due to their strong work ethic that they have to be able to continue to "do more with less." I hope the community will make it their mission to not only help Mr. Nelson with his plight, but also start asking questions about the other Community Service employees and what changes they have been forced to accept.
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Bob Backberg
Brainerd
