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Las Cruces manager had city staffer babysit kids
Las Cruces City Manager Terrence Moore (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Mayor says Terrence Moore’s actions were inappropriate; Moore apologizes for disruption kids caused during city council meeting
Las Cruces City Manager Terrence Moore had his administrative assistant babysit his children on Dec. 21 – while she was on the clock and being paid with public money – so he could attend a city council meeting.
Mayor Ken Miyagishima says that wasn’t appropriate. In an interview, Moore apologized for the distraction his children caused for several hours in a conference room high-level city staffers usually use to watch council meetings.
“For some people that was regarded as a distraction, and all I can offer… is if having Parker and Grant with me at city hall during the afternoon of the 21st was a disruption or an inconvenience, I apologize,” Moore said.
Moore hasn’t reimbursed the city for the cost of the almost 5.5 hours his assistant, Barbi Nevarez, spent babysitting his two young boys. By contrast, Moore did reimburse the city for some of the costs associated with two business trips he took last year after questions were raised about whether they were appropriate expenditures of public money.
Asked about the babysitting, Phil Sisneros, spokesman for Attorney General Gary King, said King’s office “would be concerned with the use of public funds for non-public use,” but he said a local-government case like this might be more appropriately directed first to the district attorney. Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez could not be reached for comment.
The city council meeting began at 1 p.m. on Dec. 21. Nevarez’s time sheet reveals that she stayed at work until 6:20 p.m., well past the time her normal workday ends at 5 p.m. She left work early two days later to make up for the time.
A Dec. 21 e-mail exchange between Moore and Nevarez leaves no doubt about the reason Nevarez worked late:
“It doesn’t look like the meeting is going to end by 5 p.m. There is an Aggie game tonight. Do you want me to take the boys? I’m not sure how much the tickets are though,” Nevarez wrote Moore at 4:44 p.m.
“What time is the Aggie Game? If you have to run home, I could meet you there ASAP (Mayor is now trying to end the meeting by 5:30 pm). Sooooo sorry!” Moore replied at 4:47 p.m.
“No problem – just checking – as long as I can get out of here by 6:30 I’ll be okay,” Nevarez replied at 4:49 p.m.
Complaints filed
Over the next two weeks, two anonymous complaints were filed with the city through its fraud, waste and abuse hotline. Though those complaints and the report issued by the committee are exempt from release under the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act, Moore voluntarily released them, as he did recently with another complaint related to the trip he took to Chicago in November.
The city’s Hotline Review Committee wrote in its report on the babysitting incident that staffers were “uncomfortable with the children present as they were disruptive.” Employees also “felt it was not appropriate for staff to babysit during work hours,” the report states.
And, according to the report, some staffers were concerned about a “risk of important documents being defaced” after Moore’s youngest son retrieved an official document from his father’s desk for a game he was going to play with a staff member who was trying to “entertain” him.
Miyagishima said in an interview that Moore won’t have Nevarez babysit his children while she’s on the clock in the future because it’s not an appropriate use of city money.
“I suggested in the future that he not do that. He needs to either take that time off and leave… or make other arrangements,” Miyagishima said. “And that’s what he’s agreed to do.”
Moore calls incident ‘a purely innocent thing’
Moore told the hotline committee that the mayor approved in advance him bringing his children with him to the council meeting. Moore and the boys’ mother are divorced, and the boys were in his care that week.
The city manager said in an interview that he had already received approval from Miyagishima to take off that entire week, but he decided he needed to be at work on Dec. 21 to attend a ceremony for retiring Police Chief Harry Romero and Fire Chief Adolf Zubia and for city council deliberations on an important mid-year budget adjustment.
“It was a really informal arrangement in which that portion of that one day I decided I should be there for those two events,” Moore said. “… I just brought (the children) along with me – a purely innocent thing.”
Miyagishima said it’s not uncommon to see Moore’s children at city hall, particularly on weekends. And while Moore told him he would be bringing his children with him to work on Dec. 21, Miyagishima said Moore didn’t tell him in advance that he was going to have Nevarez watch them.
Miyagishima said Moore wasn’t required to be at work on Dec. 21. The mayor said he told Moore in the middle of the council meeting that he could leave, but Moore insisted on staying.
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Actions speak loud and clear.
Political molehills have a peculiar habit of becoming mountains of corruptive arrogance.
I am surprised at Dr. Swickard’s response to Mr. Moore’s blatant and knowing disregard of common human resources policies and procedures. Dr. Swickard as well as Mr. Moore are quite aware of human resources rules and regulations. The violations by Mr. Moore are not excuseable, no matter how hard he works or how many hours he puts in. I also believe that Mr. Moore will never do this again, however, can you forgive every city employee each time there is a problem like this? Of course not. The scummy behavior in Santa Fe is no excuse for scummy behacior in Las Cruces! Would Mr. Moore have repaid the City without the Whistle Blowers? Even though Mr. Moore is a valuable employee with considerable talent, I am surprised the Mayor did not at least give Mr. Moore a reprimand of some sort.
If this is a serious problem for city workers, the city needs to revise their policies and procedures and find a way to have quality baby/children/elderly care provided at a reasonable cost.
ftrplt
Nothing “wrong” was done here. Maybe he shouldn’t make it a habit to have employees watch his kids in the future, but that’s more a practicality now than anything.
This story is a striking example of the fact that in America of 2010, we STILL do not have family friendly work places, nor do we have enough accessible and quality childcare. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Moore has experienced what women have been struggling with for a long time: juggling work outside the home with the care of children and the raising of families in our society is NOT supported, no matter how much we wave the flag for “familiy values”. Women have been made to suffer a great deal of work-related stress due to their being the primary caregivers in families forever, and now that men are actually starting to be fully involved parents, it’s spilling over on them, too.
As a parent who frequently was forced to bring their children to work because of gaps in childcare arrangements, I can tell you that our community DESPERATELY needs better quality, affordable options for working parents– “quality” and “affordable” being the key words. Often, the best childcare situations here are also the ones with the narrowest ranges in terms of operating hours. My kids went to an excellent pre-school, for example, that closed at 5:30 sharp, on federal holidays and throughout Christmas and other breaks at the University. If I had to work until 7, I I refused to just dump them and an unfamiliar place (even if one had been available), and I obviously couldn’t just go home, so often they came, stayed in my office and played quietly when necessary. My spouse often took our youngest to work with him at WSMR while I was working full time and going to grad school, because there simply was no affordable childcare that coincided with his and my irregular schedules. Quite frankly, almost EVERYONE I know has had to bring their children to work with them on occasion, and I haven’t seen the business world come to a sudden halt!
I feel much empathy for Mr. Moore. His career is one in which there is little respect for family hours, obligations and relationships. Not everyone wants their kid to be in childcare 16 hours a day either, just to make a living. He obviously is an involved and caring dad or this never would have happened. Instead of humiliating and punishing him, we should be patting him on the back for his level of commitment to real “family values”.
One last thing: this incident appears to involve two disgruntled employees are trying to harm the reputation of Mr. Moore and his assistant. Hiding behind the anonymity of a “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse” hotline in this situation seems pretty petty to me. At the rate we would have paid a babysitter–minimum wage– the City of Las Cruces seems to have lost all of $15 bucks for these two kids to have hung out with Ms. Nevarez. Wow–big waste there, ladies.
I agree with Dr. Swickard, Mr. Moore is a fine, dedicated public servant and Las Cruces is lucky to have him. This is an example of how family unfriendly the American workplace is. Millions of parents struggle with this type of situation every day, we need to focus on finding solutions for all of them.
REAL ISSUES
The incident is a minor one that I think was unintentional and probably will not happen again. The fault would lie with Miyagashima for giving permission in the first place. The City Council is no place for children. The time spent with the children by his assistant was minor infraction when considered as a whole.
I do think Mr Moore should reimburse the city for the expenditure of city funds for his private use and agree not to do such a thing in the future. I am sure he is aware that this is a violation of his trust, just as the Mayor is aware.
I agree with Michael Swickard that this is minute when the graft going on in the Roundhouse is considered. The real issues are in Santa Fe and these are where we need to focus our main attention. When one considers the voter fraud in this state, because of no Photo Voter ID, this is a real crime. We don’t need to be getting in such an uproar about something so trivial. Just chastise the people involved, make sure the city is reimbursed and lets get on with the important issues.
This is another example of people making excuses for someone who should lead by example and not abuse the privledge of having access to city resources for personal gain. Id like to know if he was in fact on vacation time while he so generously abused his staff. If he treats his Executive Assistance like a slave, imagine what he’s up to with the rest of the City employees; from police to services to god knows what else!
Watch his actions, and dont be fooled by his hogwash cover up excuses. How much would the tax payers fork out when that assistant babysitter decides she is being mistreated and files a complaint for a hostile workplace? it’s happened before.
I agree here that our City Manager is dedicated to serving Las Cruces to the point that he consistently works extra hours and comes in to work on a day he’s not scheduled to work just before Christmas, and stays late even though the mayor offers him the opportunity to leave. Thats the kind of dedication that’s hard to find. This kind of matter is the kind of thing that comes up when real people are doing real work and have families, kids and other responsibilities. A workplace generally needs to be able to accommodate the human side of being an employee, and adjust as needed to the odd contingencies that come up unexpectedly, and then find ways to handle things better next time.
For this instance to be considered as a matter for public reporting and concern is, I’m sorry to say, ludicrous, and a juvenile parody of what true ethical concerns consist of for conduct of public officials. If this is an example of the kinds of things the citizenry is supposed to be worried about, god help us all. If not, then let’s not write stories about it, and let’s keep our eye on the ball, such as what’s going on at PRC, or Land Office, where actions involving millions of dollars are handled in questionable manner, by office holders with track records of ignoring proper process or under indictment, etc.
I have been around some very fine public servants over the last 40 years while writing about politics and government. Mr. Moore is one of them. I do not know him other than he was on my radio talk show a few times and I see him in meetings.
I do believe this was innocent and occurred out of his zeal to do everything he could to make the city run well. Yes, he apologized. No, I do not think this will happen again. Compared to the scummy behavior we see in Santa Fe it does not **even** compare.
Mr. Moore: I appreciate your dedication to our city. Please give the shin kickers and ankle biters a pass on this and move on without you moving somewhere else. I would miss your leadership.