'Low staff morale, distrust of executive leadership': Probe reveals issues at Chatham MPC

A formal probe into the workplace culture of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission found the organization suffers from "low staff morale, distrust of executive leadership, communications issues and unclear and inadequate instructions on projects."

Chatham County leaders ordered the investigation after an anonymous complaint letter from MPC staffers was delivered to County Manager Lee Smith and  MPC Board Chairman Joseph Welch on Sept. 13, 2021.

Dig deeper:MPC 'morale crisis'? Here's what the probe into workplace culture found valid, invalid

The complaint letter listed grievances with Executive Director Melanie Wilson, and issues within the department, most notably that the MPC, “under its current leadership, has failed to promote a positive and friendly work environment, and instead the staff find themselves in a truly hostile, tense work environment.”

The organization, commonly known as the MPC, is responsible for development, urban and transportation planning, and historic preservation for both the Chatham Commission and Savannah City Council. 

The investigation was conducted by Anita Thomas of Nelson Mullins Scarborough Reilly LLC's Atlanta office. Throughout the investigation, Thomas was able to substantiate six of the 15 claims made in the letter, summarizing the presence of a tense work environment, clashes between Wilson and longtime employees, and a disconnect in communication between Wilson and her staff.

The investigation's findings stop short of blaming Wilson entirely for the workplace issues, citing the troubled state of the MPC before Wilson was hired in 2018, as a "change agent."

“The witness interviews and the review of evidence establish that there is a morale crisis at the MPC. The vast majority of witnesses interviewed during the investigation stated as much, and Wilson herself did not deny that staff morale was low. According to Board Members, there have been longstanding issues with low staff morale that preceded Wilson’s tenure,” the investigation read.

Dig deeper

Read the full investigation into MPC operations and a breakdown of what can and can't be substantiated with this subscriber-only story from reporter Will Peebles.

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What does investigation mean?

The scope of the investigation was set by the complaints listed in the letter, and while some of them were confirmed by Thomas, most were inconclusive. 

Wilson declined to comment on the investigation. MPC Chairman Joe Welch declined as well. Smith, who is currently on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons, was unavailable for comment.

According to the investigation report, acquired by Savannah Morning News, the probe was requested to make “factual findings regarding instances or patterns of conduct that rise to the level of hostile work environment, and to evaluate potential legal exposure based on said allegations.” 

In the investigation introduction, the law firm explicitly states they were not retained to “provide MPC with legal advice regarding whether to retain or terminate any MPC employees, including Wilson.”

The findings of the investigation were not presented to Wilson or MPC staff, but the MPC’s board of directors each received a copy. 

Chatham County, a taxpayer-funded organization, paid to retain Nelson Mullins for the study, according to the introduction section of the investigation report. 

Bevy of current, former staffers give interviews

The law firm’s investigation consisted of 33 interviews with former or current MPC employees. Four board members, nine former employees, 19 current employees and Wilson herself were interviewed as part of the probes.

Notes from each interview were included in the investigation summary. Some interviewees, even those current employees protected by anonymity, were described as “tearful” and “emotional” during their interviews. 

One current employee asked Thomas to meet in a parking garage for their interview out of "fear of retaliation from leadership." Some interviewees alleged harsher treatment and higher expectations for Black employees. One interview alleged Wilson intentionally outed a gay MPC staffer by referencing his husband in a widely distributed email. 

The reports makes note of one "isolated complaint about potential discrimination based on an employee's sexual orientation, as well as some suggestion that Wilson may hold Black employees to a different standard than white employees."

Others MPC employees defended the director, saying Wilson’s leadership style clashed with the mindset and office culture of those who had been with the MPC prior to her hiring. They noted that Wilson increased the level of accountability within the office, and some acknowledged that grievances within the workplace existed prior to Wilson’s arrival. 

The investigator, Thomas, wrote the findings don't rise to the level of a hostile work environment. That type of claim typically involves discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or religion. 

She said there were complaints "indicating that the MPC may be a difficult, demoralizing and unproductive workplace, but these issues alone would not amount to a hostile work environment." 

Wilson defends leadership in interview

In an investigation interview, Wilson denied most of the allegations in the complaint letter, but also acknowledged that staff morale was low. 

Wilson says she was hired as a "change agent," a term also used by an unidentified MPC board member interviewed during the investigation in describing Wilson's hiring. Wilson said the MPC was hemorrhaging money when she was hired and was told "the doors are about to close."

County budgets from previous years show MPC's funding from Chatham County increased from $943,540 to $1.01 million from 2015 to 2016. In 2017, the county funding dropped to $886,500, and would continue at the same level until 2020, when county funding increased to $925,711, which remained the funding level in 2021. 

Wilson said one of her biggest charges from the board was to make sure more staff were in the office, a change largely resisted by staff. The investigation came after employees were returning to work from COVID-19.

Wilson said she suspected some of that resistance came from her race, Thomas wrote: "She attributed these problems to the facts that she was African American, that there was racism in the office, and that she was making changes that people did not like."

In the interview, Wilson alleges both her email and the email of Assistant Director Pamela Everett were compromised by other staffers, despite her never giving them permission to do so. 

As for giving staff directions, Wilson says she doesn't want to micromanage employees — "she lets the staff know what she wants the end result to be; then, she tries to let them take their own approach to get to the result," Thomas wrote. 

Another allegation raised in the interviews, but not the initial complaint letter, was a change in vacation policy. Wilson said when employees would resign from the MPC, the agency often had to pay out large sums to compensate employees for unused vacation time.

Wilson eliminated the vacation time rollover policy, and "if they needed to roll it over, to send a memo on why they could not take it." Wilson said the changes were "necessary for the viability of the agency."

"Indeed, she was directed to come up with a solution to some of the financial problems they were having with regards to money," Thomas wrote.

Investigator issues recommendations

The report included several recommended actions, including the formation of a human resources department within the MPS. According to Thomas, the assistant director, Everett, currently serves “in the HR role" but this is problematic as Everett "is considered by the staff to be an extension of Wilson.”

"Many have noted that Wilson and (Everett) have a very close relationship and there is little confidence in (Everett's) ability to be impartial where issues regarding Wilson are concerned," wrote Thomas. The result is internal gossip and feelings of frustration amongst staffers, Thomas added. 

Thomas also recommended leadership training for Wilson, Everett and other supervisors within the MPC and said Wilson's leadership style was "fundamentally flawed in significant ways." She cited that Wilson is a "poor communicator, whose deficiencies in this area have led to inefficiencies within the office. 

"In short, Wilson's comments suggest that she understands the importance of having an 'open door policy'; conversely, however, the feedback from most staff is that she does not follow this policy,” the report reads. 

The final passage in the investigation report is a suggestion for more transparency within the agency, noting that staffers consistently expressed frustration over investigations that have resulted in no changes. 

Although Thomas does not believe there are any ramifications of legal liability within the report, "the goal should be to use this information to improve the management of the organization, ensure that all employees are apprised of what changes occur, and hopefully achieve a cultural reset."

Will Peebles is the City Council and County Commission reporter for Savannah Morning News, covering local Savannah and Chatham County decisions. He can be reached at wpeebles@savannahnow.com or on Twitter @willpeeblesSMN