In
a response to the request for documents that show the City Manager has given
salary bonuses to certain employees, the City attorney refuses to share that
information because, “the release
of the information may likely spur unhealthy comparisons among employees and
thus breed discontent and/or discord in the workplace.” The City fears that employees who may have been
deserving of bonuses were passed over for political reasons. Certainly the City Manager should be able to
validate his decision to award bonuses. The
recipients must be proud that their efforts were rewarded by being singled out
by the City Manager to receive a bonus while the community is denied the
knowledge of who got a bonus and why. Was
it for doing a better job or for political reasons like a little something for
making sure that a favored candidate for public office got some additional
support?