In a resignation letter that pulled no punches, Meena Beyers, Brookfield’s village planner took her leave this week but not before offering intense criticism of current and former village trustees, colleagues, the local press and the community at large.
“The Brookfield community has no boundaries or respect for privacy. In my career, I have never served such a disdainful and disrespectful community,” Beyers wrote. Her resignation letter was obtained by the Landmark through a Freedom of Information Act filing.
Beyers said Brookfield has little interest in long-range planning and is instead focused entirely on “the next election or union negotiation.” Her letter, addressed to Keith Sbiral, assistant village manager and her direct supervisor, continued: “I am sorry to leave you and our co-workers in the hostile, abusive and intolerable environment that various village departments, residents, slum landlords and trustees have created.”
Commenting last week on her resignation, Sbiral said, “Given the environment here I don’t blame her; I’m certainly not surprised someone would not want to work in that environment,” Sbiral said.
Sbiral also said the silence that met calls for Beyers’ removal on the part of village trustees and some staff may have also played a part in her decision to leave.
“I’m sure it had a role,” Sbiral said. “If you think the comments online, in letters to the editor and at board meetings were bad, you should hear what comes over the counter at village hall.”
Village Manager Riccardo Ginex called Beyers resignation “a total surprise.” Ginex said he believes Beyers is leaving to take a position elsewhere and that the village had no intention of letting her go. “I think the staff and village board feel it’s a critical position.”
Beyers could not be reached for comment.
In light of the village’s strained financial condition, however, Ginex said that the planner position will not immediately be filled.
“For the time being, for the next six months, we’re not going to fill it,” Ginex said. “Then we’ll re-evaluate it at that point. I’d like to fill it, but I think it’s a smart move not to move on that position right away.”
At Monday night’s village board meeting President Michael Garvey said, “I appreciate all the work she did for the village over the years and just wish her well.” Garvey went on to defend the decision not to fill the position for the time being. He cited economic uncertainties and said remaining village staff “will pick up the slack.”
Trustee Michael Towner also credited Beyers as a good employee but was critical of the decision not to fill the post promptly. “I also think Brookfield has moved two steps back by not having this position filled and not having this particular skill set.”
Beyers and the planner position specifically have been held up by critics and political opponents of Garvey’s administration as an example of wasteful spending. Critics claimed there was no need for a village planner during an economic downturn in which there was little being planned for residential and commercial properties.
With the village threatening to lay off police officers and firefighters, some wondered how the village could maintain a planner on the payroll. According to Ginex, Beyers salary was $70,500 per year. She also had medical and dental insurance through the village worth about $16,000.
Ginex said he was surprised by the personal nature of the apparent animosity towards Beyers and the position.
“I’ve never seen it personalized in any organization or targeted at specific staff except in this community,” Ginex said. “Who are they going to target next? If the economy doesn’t come back, are we not going to have any managers at all?”
Sbiral said he believes that it’s a mistake not to fill the planner’s position.
“From a standpoint of a professional economic development process I’ve been trying to create for four years, it takes an enormous step backward in not rehiring this position,” Sbiral said. “If you look at the goals set forth four years ago, we’ve accomplished a huge amount of them and we were on the cusp of accomplishing most of them.”
Beyers’ position has been a lightning rod since 2008, when she first announced she was leaving to take a job with the Illinois Housing Development Authority. But just a month after leaving Brookfield, she had second thoughts about the new gig and wound up back in Brookfield as the recession gained momentum.
A month later, the village was warning of staff layoffs and service cutbacks. Several positions were cut in early 2009 in public works, the fire department, police department and village hall. Later in the year, Ginex eliminated the position of director of public works and deputy police chief. Beyers survived those layoffs.
Reporter Bob Skolnik contributed to this story.
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