Gary Manning, a city personnel administrator who conducted the investigation, said in 12 years of work he had never before run into such an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. More than a dozen employees expressed intensely negative feelings about Hansel's management style, calling her “hostile, dishonest, vindictive, oppressive” and describing a hostile work environment for anyone outside her circle of friends, the Mesa East Valley Tribune reported April 27.
Hansel told American Libraries that she had solicited feedback from staff annually through a process in which comments were collected anonymously through an outside consultant. “There were negative things,” she said, noting concerns about the pace of change following a planning-for-results process. “There was a lot of change and not everyone was happy.”
Although investigators recommended termination for Hansel, the city instead suspended her for two weeks without pay and put her on probation for one year. In an April 18 rebuttal to city managers, Hansel disagreed with the investigators' decision and questioned the complainant's motives. The investigation was “based on an assumption that the information given was factual, even though she [the complainant] admitted lying to interviewers during the investigation,” she wrote.
Officials said spending the money and resources on Hansel—whose strategic planning had moved the library into the 21st century—were worth it. “It's a very complex matter, but she has the skills to lead the library,” said City Manager Mike Hutchinson.
“There's issues of trust and morale that are just concerns on the part of the library employees,” said Deputy City Manager Debbi Dollar. “We've got to heal the damage that's been done.”
Posted May 5, 2003.