Marchione investigated in 9 incidents

The report by Bill Sims, the independent attorney investigating a workplace complaint by City Manager Brenda Fischer, outlines nine separate incidents involving Maricopa City Councilman Alan Marchione.

It concludes by saying while some employees felt threatened by him, no employee ever “stated that the councilman ever touched, groped or otherwise requested sexual accommodations from the employee.”

The complaint spurring the investigation outlined nine allegations involving Marchione, ranging from discussing inappropriate personal matters in a lewd way with city staff to making city employees feel their jobs were threatened.

Fischer, said in an email Wednesday, “As a complainant, I am not satisfied with the report’s findings.”

However, “As city manager, I believe the recommendations that the city council adopted last night are a step in the right direction,” Fischer wrote.

“My goal throughout this process was to protect the city and ensure that the workplace is free from inappropriate behavior or harassment from anyone; whether it is from an employee, a vendor, a citizen, or a councilmember.”

In terms of the work environment at city hall, Fisher said, “Due to the professionalism and dedication of the city’s excellent staff, productivity has not been adversely affected.”

“However, some employees, including myself, experienced anxiety and fear during this process, which I hope is relieved now that the city’s investigation has been concluded,” she wrote.

Sims concluded in his report that, based on some of his interviews, “some of the city employees did have the impression that they were working in an environment that caused the employees concern about their future of their employment at the city.”

The attorney also wrote that city employees had “concern when communicating with (Marchione).”

“He is very direct,” the report states, which caused “the recipient of the communications to perceive that the councilman was threatening” and an impression “that their jobs might be threatened.”

However, the report also found that, although “some of the employees also expressed discomfort arising out of the councilman’s tendency to (physically) place himself in close proximity to employees when communicating,” none “stated that the councilman ever touched, groped or otherwise requested sexual accommodations from the employee.”

The report resulted in Sims making six recommendations to the city council during its regular meeting Tuesday evening, two of which Marchione volunteered to comply with and four of which focus on improving human resources procedures for city staff.