The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Tim Steller in his recent column unfortunately misses a number of important facts and chose to highlight the negative controversy on teleworking rather than the positive things county workers are doing every day to make this community safe.
Pima County employees who are teleworking and wish to do so after May 15 can continue to do so as long as they meet the required criteria spelled out for them in exacting detail on our intranet site and in communications to their supervisors. Nevertheless, I understand what prompted the criticism and I have welcomed the feedback.
Steller implies that I am being cavalier about the health and well-being of county employees. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have gone to extraordinary lengths to protect our employees while at the same time fulfilling our public service mission.
We reduced our work site force by approximately half. Essential workers continue to come to work every day. We were the first employer in the county to implement wellness checks at all entrances to our facilities. We have given to numerous regional governments and private-sector employers our procedures for operating such checks so they can do the same.
We have moved all meetings of more than 10 people to the internet, and those of less than 10 require physical distancing of more than 6 feet between participants. For example our public hearing room that could hold 350 people can only hold 46 today to meet safe distancing standards.
We have greatly increased our cleaning and sanitation regimen of county facilities, moved numerous in-person public services to telephonic or internet service; installed protective shields at public counters; provided masks to employees; and made extensive modifications to our libraries so they can reopen and keep our staff and the public safe. The list of changes and modifications is quite long, these are just a few examples.
It is safe as it can be to return to work at county work sites now that the governor’s stay-at-home order is expiring.
Every county employee is paid by the taxpayers to perform essential duties in service to them. Taxpayers need to be assured they are getting a full day’s work from a public employee.
In some cases, teleworking can make it hard to verify this. It is possible to verify what people are doing when teleworking but doing so requires strict Big Brother criteria and controls, which we do not have and frankly do not want.
Steller also gave short shrift to my concerns about worker equity. I have insisted during my entire career as county administrator that employees be treated equally. Telework favors higher paid white collar staff and provides them privileges that are not available to other employees, including the thousands of county employees who do not work in offices — the people who fix roads, trim trees, repair buildings, inspect restaurants, patrol streets, work in the jail and so on. They continue to work for the public without the benefit of teleworking. They are some of the most at-risk employees which is why I and the board of supervisors authorized COVID-19 premium pay during the stay-at-home order.
Nevertheless, despite all the criticism and acrimony over this issue, here’s the bottom line: If an employee qualifies for telework, he or she can telework.
I admire our dedicated workforce who work hard every day to serve the public. I am especially proud of how they have maintained all critical county operations during this pandemic. County employees fully appreciate that taxpayers make their jobs possible and that we need to be accountable to them.
We always must remember we are all in this together and should stress the positive, not the negative.
