SALT LAKE CITY — There's been mounting tension between the Salt Lake City Council and Mayor Jackie Biskupski in the weeks since the new mayor has sent several longtime city department leaders out of office.
City Council members have grown increasingly concerned as they've watched six department leaders leave their positions, some leaving behind decades of experience.
And now, former Mayor Rocky Anderson is urging the council to push back.
Thursday morning, Anderson sent an email to each council member urging them to only consent to new appointees that are "equally — or more — educated, experienced and capable than those they will be replacing."
Anderson publicly supported Biskupski during her campaign, but in the months since her election, he has called her decision to "slash and burn" so many department heads "arrogant" and "reckless."
"If I had known that she was going to basically purge city government of all these amazing, effective, hardworking people, I wouldn't have supported her," Anderson said. "We're losing not only people of great education and experience, but we're also losing a ton of historical knowledge that is so vital to anybody that heads up these departments."
"I truly think it's going to be impossible to find people of the same caliber to head up those departments," Anderson added.
Biskupski's spokesman Matthew Rojas said the mayor "really respects" Anderson's passion for the city and its residents.
"Mayor Biskupski shares exactly that same passion and would never appoint anybody that would in any way endanger city residents or make our city work less well," Rojas said. "Every person that the mayor appoints and brings to the council for their consideration will be incredibly well-qualified for these positions."
Rojas referenced a point Biskupski made in her State of the City address Tuesday when she said no one person should "hold all the keys." He said the mayor will be appointing managers who are able to "utilize the expert staff who are already on the ground."
The City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to consider two of Biskupski's appointees: Julio Garcia for human resources director, and Mike Reberg as public utilities director. Reberg would replace Jeff Niermeyer, who worked in public utilities for about 25 years, nine of which as director.
Biskupski has not yet appointed any replacements for the other outgoing veteran directors, including Public Service Director Rick Graham, who worked in his department for more than 30 years, and D.J. Baxter, who was executive director of the city's redevelopment agency for eight years.
"This is a brain drain of the city," said City Council Chairman James Rogers. "All of these people who have the institutional knowledge to train new people are gone, and we're hiring people outside of Salt Lake City that don't even understand these departments."
Rogers said he and other council members are not particularly concerned about Garcia's appointment, but they have reservations about Reberg.
Reberg has years of management experience in local and federal government, as the once-assistant director of public works for Salt Lake County and most recently director of Salt Lake County Animal Services.
But Rogers said he's concerned that Reberg has no experience working utilities — a department that has nuanced systems, such as water delivery, storm wastewater and sewage treatment.
"It's a public health and safety issue to me," Rogers said. "You're not going to hire somebody that doesn't know anything about policing or fire to be chief of those departments, and that's exactly what has been done for public utilities."
And Rogers said it's not only Anderson that has urged council members to carefully consider Biskupski's appointments before they give their nod of consent.
"All across the city people are concerned that the type of people being put in are not of equal caliber as those that have left," he said. "We're not just hearing it from Rocky; we're hearing it from businesses and other well-educated people who are in the field where those department heads have left."
When asked if the City Council could reinstate the old department heads, Rogers said the council only has the power to consent. So if the City Council clashes with Biskupski's administration over any appointees, some departments could go without a director until the stalemate is resolved.
"If that's the way the administration wants to play it," Rogers said. "We've tried to be as gracious as possible to the administration and tell them to please reconsider, specifically (Reberg). We think he is a heck of a guy, a great manager, but when it comes to public utilities, it's a health safety issue for the majority of the council. We just think it's not a right fit for him."
Anderson said the City Council has a very important role as they consider Biskupski's current and future appointees.
"I hope they take it very seriously," he said, "because there could be some very serious long-term ramifications for our city."
Email: kmckellar@deseretnews.com
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