Stevensville Town Clerk Audree Tribbensee has filed a notice of complaint alleging workplace bullying and harassment primarily against Council President Bob Michalson. However, several incidents described in the complaint include the entire Town Council and former mayor Jim Crews. She states that “the staff in the office all agree, to some degree or another, that the environment is unbearable, toxic, hostile, harassing and unhealthy.”
“The conduct of Mr. Michalson, Council and former Mayor Crews is severe and pervasive enough that I, being a reasonable person, consider the work environment to be intimidating, hostile and/or abusive. I have worked successfully for municipal governments for over 30 years, working with many Mayors and councilmembers; many of whom are good friends to this day, many who were difficult to work with; many of whom I did not agree with. In all these years, I have never encountered a Council as hostile to the Mayor and staff members as the Town of Stevensville Town Council,” wrote Tribbensee.
While many of the incidents in the claim involve her personally, she states that several of the bullying tactics and harassment activities are also directed at Mayor Brandon Dewey and calls them “deliberately harsh.”
She calls the bullying tactics and harassment activities “deliberately harsh… relentless verbal and nonverbal attacks and overt and covert actions against the mayor. “I witness these actions and attacks on a frequent basis,” she writes.
Her complaint also includes “unwelcome comments that are based on race/nationality and sexual in nature.” She states that this claim “does not include petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents, but does include incidents that are unwelcome, intimidating, hostile and/or offensive.”
Tribbensee states that the abusive nature and on-going hostile working environment are one reason the previous clerk, Stacy Bartlett, left.
“Prior to reporting to duty, Ms. Bartlett tried to warn me about the hostile nature of the work; however, I brushed it off as I have successfully dealt with difficult councils in the past, never imagining how bad it really is in Stevensville,” she wrote.
The next 17 pages of the complaint include a list of incidents beginning on July 9, 2018, Tribbensee’s first day on the job, up through October 4, 2018 when she filed the complaint.
In conclusion, Tribbensee states that these activities, events, behaviors, etc. are having a detrimental impact on her health, both physically and emotionally and adversely affecting her ability to do her job.
“The fact the Town Council acted with full knowledge that a hostile work place exists directly related to them, and reversed the Mayor’s attempts to prevent further unwarranted, unwelcome bullying and harassing situations speaks volumes in itself,” she wrote. She said it is the Town’s responsibility to implement preventative and/or proactive steps to ensure the working environment is free from these types of situations. “Because I am constantly on edge, on guard and stressed about what will be the next assault, I am asking for assistance, and act with due diligence to remedy the situation,” she wrote.
She ends with a list of questions about the Council’s actions and lack of action in regard to the situation. She also addresses Michalson and Crews specifically.
“I also find it extremely disparaging with gender discrimination: ‘hire a new woman and the first thing she does is rearrange the furniture’, ‘the ladies in the office get beat up’, ‘Council has the right to access you ladies’, you are just secretaries’, Mr. Michalson and Mr. Crews use these types of expressions on a frequent basis, with both referring to us as “the ladies in the office.”
She states that she is “deeply offended by Mr. Michalson’s ‘Tribal’ comments and his statement to my husband in front of me and my coworkers that they are sleeping with the wrong wives.”
“In closing, Mr. Michalson, Mr. Crews and Councilmembers have created an oppressive and hostile work environment for me and my co-workers. I can no longer ignore the palpable risk of their abusive conduct and the effects it has on my mental and physical health. I personally find Mr. Michalson’s behavior abhorrent, it is undignified, embarrassing and degrading. I am having sleepless nights while wondering what the next day will bring,” she wrote.
“I cannot say it enough, the work environment is negative, unproductive and demoralizing. Staff is under such scrutiny that it is hard to stay focused, efficient and accurate,” she concludes. She states that it is not only affecting her, but everyone in the office and asks for the Council’s attention to the matter.
Asked if she had any comments about the complaint, Tribbensee said, “Yes, I just want people to know that this was not my agenda, that I came to Stevensville extremely excited for the opportunity to work here. I left a very high-powered, high-paying position and thought I had a lot of talents I could bring here.
“I did not put this claim in lightly,” she said. “I just want people to know what is happening here to me, to my co-workers and Mayor Dewey and while I was initially shocked as each day went by and the hostility went on and at times intensified, I watched as my co-workers broke down in tears, suffering stress, as I have. We are all in survival mode and we are just wanting Council to let us do our jobs. We are all very talented. We have a lot to offer. We give 110%.
“I guess the message I want to get out is that we are here to do the job if the Council and the Mayor would just let and stop all this pettiness, but we are in a debilitating mode right now.”
Mayor Dewey said that the Town had hired a third party attorney from Missoula, Malin Stearns-Johnson, to investigate the complaint and provide a report. He said that the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority had been notified as well.
According to Dewey, the town has no policy concerning a complaint made against the Council by administrative staff and that the Council has no official standard of conduct.
“My hope is that based on the findings of the investigation we can have some conversations with all those involved and move toward a resolution,” said Dewey. He stated that he was also working with the attorney to isolate Mr. Crews’ contact with town staff.
“We have had other complaints of stalking and harassment by Mr. Crews,” he said. “We won’t cut off his access to participate, but will structure it to protect the rights of the employees,” said Dewey.
Council President Bob Michalson, contacted on Monday for comment, said that he had been out of town and had not read the complaint yet and would refrain from commenting.
Former mayor Jim Crews said that the mayor was going to send him a copy but that he hadn’t received it yet. He said he has had maybe a dozen conversations with the clerk and they were all polite and pleasant.
“Hell, she even invited me to lunch,” he said. “I don’t know what this is all about. I’m not really concerned about it. I haven’t been mean, nasty or aggressive. This is somebody’s figment of their imagination or something.”
Crews said that he had heard there were some unfounded claims in the complaint. “I’m not involved in some conspiracy or anything. I have a right to express my opinions. If I go to a council meeting and don’t like something, I have a right to express my opinion. If somebody doesn’t like that, maybe they need to move to communist China.”
Crews said the whole thing goes back to when the Mayor told Michalson he had been spending a lot of time at Crews’ house and he wanted him to know that he was being watched.
“If what I’m hearing is true about this complaint,” he said, “then I feel like I’m being stalked and that’s very serious too, when a private citizen cannot go see what his government is doing.”
“I’m not going to say any more. I’m going to call an attorney,” said Crews.