Article lacked input from all involved parties

I am saddened (and yes a bit disheartened) by the Saturday headline article of the Daily Bee. Let me explain why.

The Bee ran a "news" article without following a rule of journalistic ethics, namely to address both sides of an issue. I was not contacted for my take on the issue nor for an explanation of why I made the decision I did. It is important to point out that the decision regarding "Big 5" window compromise was mine, not city staff. I was elected to make hard decisions, not to take credit for popular ones while blaming city staff for unpopular ones.

I am extremely proud not only of our staff but also the unparalleled involvement of city council in important city decisions. For example, the city council president and I are working on a citizen involvement plan to make it easier to impact city decisions, I instituted a procedure that resulted in unprecedented participation of city council in developing the budget, the council is working diligently to develop a meaningful comprehensive plan, a new bicycle advisory committee is working on how we can make our city more friendly to this important mode of transportation, an utility bill insert is produced each month to provide citizens with important information on city activities and plans, and so many other new and exciting programs are "in the works."

That said I do not condone the words attributed to members of our city's council. If accurately quoted, it is inappropriate to publicly chastise an employee who has no ability to fight back or defend himself in a public forum. To publicly accuse a city employee of overstepping his authority, especially when I was the one who made the decision, is to create a work environment in which creativity is stifled and obedience to the wishes of an individual council member is enforced by public rebukes. Would you feel your job is being threatened? How willing would you be to work in an environment if you thought that you would be publicly challenged and chastised for a decision that was made by your boss?

Working together, the council, the mayor, city staff, and the citizens can solve the challenges we face as a community but only if we treat others with respect and dignity. The Daily Bee could help us toward that goal by reporting on our successes and providing factual information on our challenges rather than trying to start fights.

GRETCHEN HELLAR

Mayor

Sandpoint

Editor's note: Attempts were made by Daily Bee reporter Conor Christofferson to speak with both Jeremy Grimm and Gretchen Hellar. Neither were available for comment.