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September 17, 2009 Opinions |
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—Editorial—
Severance Pay Not Part Of The Deal
Should former City Manger Steve Brocato receive severance pay? We don’t think so. There was no employment contract stating he would receive such pay when he was hired, and there was no agreement made that he should receive it when he was fired.
Had it been a layoff, job elimination or a mutual agreement to part ways, some type of severance package may have been negotiated. But since Brocato, when asked, declined to resign, he was fired and not offered severance pay.
At this point, why he was fired is not really an issue because the City Charter clearly states that the city manager is “subject to the discretion of the council and may be removed by the council with or without cause.”
Whether or not Brocato was fired unjustly or Councilors violated any public meeting laws should be addressed as a separate issue by Brocato and his lawyer or the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, not as an inducement to receive a severance package that was never part of the original deal.
—Letters To The Editor—
Brocato Supporters Taking Yard Signs?
To The Record-Courier:
Our yard sign, “Support Dennis Dorrah and Beverly Calder” has mysteriously disappeared! It was firmly implanted into the ground, so a sudden burst of wind could not remove it. Let us hope that someone wanted to place it in a more prominent location where it would attract more attention to convince voters that this recall is detrimental to Baker City.
Frances Burgess
Baker City, Ore.
The Things That Bug Us Most
To The Record-Courier:
Have you ever noticed how many things can actually bug us the most at the most inopportune time? It can be rather annoying and difficult to be on our best behavior at times without letting those around us see how things really can bug us the most. In some ways it can be a little humor to one if one least expects the outcome of such resources and all.
Well now I am going to list a few things that might get the best of some of you at that, all for the fun of things in life no matter what.
Now for those wonderful cell phones etc. Yes, it can be rather unpleasant especially in restaurants when all of a sudden your concentration on whatever it might be even if one is staring off into space and you hear this ding, ding, ding the sound of a cell phone disrupting whatever one might be indulged in at the moment. And then you lose your train of thinking and can't get back to what you were really thinking of in the first place, and then it probably wasn't all that important to begin with. I do admire in some churches and all they actually ask you to turn those things off. And I think it is a matter of respect at that.
So now getting away from the ding, ding, ding, aspects of life, on to some more humor at that. Another one that I have noticed at times is the stirring of one's coffee and that old spoon makes a sound itself until that poor coffee or tea has more then enough stirring at that.
Then I have noticed a few passing by down H Street location noticing the facelift on our trailer and all. So here goes, if anyone wants to volunteer their time only in getting the top of our trailer trimmed with our new wonderful color for this old trailer, we would welcome volunteers who don't mind getting on ladders and all to finish the project at its best. Other than that I will make do with my make shift of an extension to reach the height that it will go and make the best of things of what this old trailer will look like with a new face lift and all it might take a year or two, but the job will get done at that even with all the wonderful bugs, etc. that like to hang around here and all.
Another thing I have noticed is that in grocery stores etc. and all when the lines are so full and you are making a wonderful decision as to which one you might get thru the fastest, it usually comes out to be the slowest. And you still think you beat the time out no matter what. This can really bug one’s attitude at that, let alone mine. I know the feeling. So much for getting ahead these days. Yes and once again politics, and all can be just as much for bugging us more than we care to admit at that. So however the above might apply to your situation and all just look at the humor side of it and realize that this to, soon shall pass at that.
Coffee Anyone?
Brenda Dickison
Baker City, Ore.
Pills Free Of Charge!
To The Record-Courier:
I heard recently that the new government health plan would furnish pills free of charge to older people. These pills will take care of all their problems and medical expenses. I'm getting older so this sounds good to me. No problems or medical bills, what more can we ask for?
I wonder if there is any pain involved, I can't stand much pain anymore and why wait for old age with a deal like this. I think we should call the president and ask if he could pop a couple of these pills on his daily T.V. show, this will give us some first hand information.
G. Mann
Lincoln City, Ore.
Former Cronos Chairman Clears The Air About Brocato’s Employment
To The Record-Courier:
A letter written by Gary Dielman and printed by The Record-Courier was recently forwarded to me. Mr. Dielman raised a number of questions about Steve Brocato’s past job experience and his qualifications to hold the job of City Manager.
I have direct knowledge of Steve’s capabilities, character and history and would like to provide some clarification.
Steve is a strong leader, and like most strong leaders, he can be rough around the edges and irritating at times. But he’s smart, he’s principled and he’s tenacious and I believe that Baker City is lucky to have his services.
I hired Steve in 1981 from an ocean carrier to work at Trans Ocean Leasing (TOL), a container leasing company in San Francisco. Over the next few years we kept in contact but moved in different directions within the company. Steve moved from a sales manager in San Francisco to Manager of TOL’s Midwest office in Chicago.
In 1983, I participated in the startup of a new leasing company called Leasing Partners International (LPI) based in the United Kingdom. As the company expanded, we opened an office in the US and offered the manager’s job to Steve. After six months with us, Steve opened an office in San Francisco to start up operations in North and South America. He traveled a lot, worked entirely on his own and succeeded in breaking through serious competition from some much larger companies. During this period, Steve was a leader in establishing computer network usage within the company (against a lot of resistance from people like me!).
In about 1986, he was promoted to Vice President of the Americas, based in San Francisco with a small staff. At the time, our entire organization, with offices in Singapore, the UK and the US probably didn’t exceed 15 people worldwide (we utilized Information Technology to keep the head count down). The company was prospering - we had grown from a startup fleet of 150 refrigerated containers to about 8-10,000 units. We then purchased another leasing company called IEA, also based in San Francisco that specialized in dry containers based on Limited Partnerships sold throughout the US. This was a stressful period during which some employees expressed frustration at the takeover of a larger company by the smaller LPI.
In about 1993, the two companies were merged into one with a new name, The Cronos Group. Steve was promoted to Vice President Corporate Affairs, a position that was heavily involved in the public offering that was soon to follow. Steve was responsible for all public interaction, including the press, NASDAQ, brokerage firms, lawyers, investors and shareholders. In 1995, after much accounting and legal scrutiny typical of all companies seeking a public offering. The Cronos Group was successfully launched on the NASDAQ (CRNS) with the assistance of Morgan Stanley and Alex Brown Co’s. At that time, our fleet totaled about 15,000 refrigerated, 200,000 dry and about 2,000 tank containers. I might add that the company had grown to 17 offices with over 150 employees worldwide making Cronos one of the top 10 container lessors worldwide. It was an amazing achievement taking the company from essentially zero to a listing on a New York stock exchange in less than 10 years. Steve played an integral role in this achievement.
As Mr. Dielman says, in about 1997, while Steve was VP Corporate Affairs, it was noticed by our auditors that certain funds transferred by European investors had never been received by the company. This resulted in an investigation by the SEC and the eventual removal of the Chairman who incidentally was also the largest shareholder at that time. Steve was in no way involved nor were any of the other officers in the company.
A number of organizational changes were made in an effort to “steady the ship” including the appointment of Steve as President. Steve and other officers worked diligently to find a “white knight” to become the majority shareholder but without success.
During this period a good deal of internal bickering was going on and after while, Steve not sensing any clear solution, and wanting to start a family (and stop the travel!) resigned and returned to the U.S.
So that briefly describes Steve’s history as I knew it. I hope that my comments will help to “clear the air”.
Laurence Sargent
Deputy Chairman, retired - The Cronos Group
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