Point Reyes Light - August 5, 1999
Flap erupts at Civic Center after septic official loses job
A shakeup at Marin Environmental Health Services has prompted some speculation that one or more county supervisors have been displeased with the way the office that handles septic and sewage issues has been doing its job.
In turn, the head of Environmental Health Services has said his office sometimes feels "intimidated" by supervisors into breaking the law.
Dave Mesagno, a supervising environmental health specialist who has worked in the Land Use and Solid Waste sections of the department for 16 years, in May was required to swap jobs with Bruce McCarthy, also a supervising environmental health specialist, who for the past six years supervised the Consumer Protection staff.
Mesagno has filed a grievance with Alex Hinds, director of the Community Development Agency, of which Environmental Health is a part.
Chief of Environmental Health Services Ed Stewart said he also intends to formally oppose the Mesagno/McCarthy switch.
Orders for the switch came in a May 10 memo from Hinds to Stewart, who believes that Hinds was pressured by county supervisors to make the move. "We know some board members told Alex Hinds that 'Land Use needs to be fixed'. Then the memo came out... I'm sorry, but that looks like too much that it came from the board," Stewart told The Light.
Stewart feels that the move was punitive in nature, and noted that there was a perception among the board that the service from Land Use was "unfriendly." At least two supervisors, and likely a third, encouraged Hinds to modify the Land Use staff, Stewart said.
Hinds, who was appointed at the end of February, unequivocally denied that the decision was influenced by his superiors. "There was no input or direction or suggestion from the Board of Supervisors regarding this reassignment," he said.
Hinds explained that his decision was not in response to any particular case, and that as a manager it is his job to evaluate his employees' skills and provide new opportunities.
But Stewart claims that there have been numerous instances in which his department has been intimidated from above, and acknowledged that Rancho Nicasio is one example of a case in which supervisors were displeased with how his office did its work.
The sale of Rancho Nicasio last year to Bob Brown was briefly held up by Environmental Health, Mesagno recalled. It is now in full operation as a restaurant and night club.
Stewart said he sometimes feels pressured to break the law by the supervisors, and told The Light that Supervisor Steve Kinsey "wants to do things out of his office ad hoc."
Kinsey declined to comment, saying that the matter is a "personnel issue" and therefore confidential.
McCarthy and Mesagno largely oppose the lateral transfer because of the specialized nature of their positions. "Alex Hinds never consulted me, nor Dave, nor Ed," McCarthy said. "The decision demonstrates a real lack of understanding of what the two of us were doing."
McCarthy added that he has found himself in "professionally embarrassing positions" because of his lack of experience in the Land Use program. McCarthy, who specializes in food safety, is seeking to return to a position in Consumer Protection.
Mesagno's formal grievance claims a possible violation of California's Brown Act, which states that "all meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public." He believes a private decision may have been made.
"I heard that there was the affirmative opinion of the board that my services were no longer wanted in Land Use," he said.
A hearing date with Hinds hasn't been set yet.