The Fraternal Order of Police out of Spencer, Oklahoma issued the following letter to the City of Spencer. At the time of our publication no officials from Spencer City Council had responded:

With great sadness, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 153 is compelled to issue the following letter of no confidence in City Manager Nicole Mukes. While the members of lodge 153 have been very reluctant to take such a step, there have been so many instances of mismanagement, lack of leadership and misconduct by the City Manager, which affect both the morale, safety, and efficiency of the Police Department that the members of Lodge 153 believe they have no other choice. The vote to issue this letter of no confidence occurred at the Union’s meeting on May 1, 2014, and was unanimously approved.

Lodge members agree that they are being micromanaged, belittled, intimidated, harassed, and fear retaliation from Ms. Mukes for informing the Council of the current status of their working environment. The members of lodge 153 have three distinct types of misconduct on the part of Ms. Mukes: (1) personal improprieties and unlawful conduct on the part of the City Manager; (2) instances of blatant retaliatory and unprofessional conduct by the City Manager; and (3) numerous instances in which the safety and efficiency of the Police Department has been compromised. Those include, but are not limited to the following:

• In November of 2011, the city manager attempted to circumvent the chain of custody of police evidence that has since compromised a criminal investigation case. That evidence was placed in an unsecured, city-owned building, at the direct order of Ms. Mukes. As a result, the evidence has since been stolen. This resulted in the Chief of Police requesting the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department conduct a criminal investigation into the missing evidence.

• On April 14, 2014, Ms. Mukes placed the Chief of Police, Virgil Green, on paid administrative leave for violations that appear to be personal in nature instead of proven misconduct. Over the course of the Chief’s tenure, the Union and its members have fully supported and witnessed enhanced police operations under the guidance and leadership of Chief Green. The morale had been at an all-time high, but recent events have diminished officers’ morale.

• On Saturday morning August 24, 2013, Ms. Mukes arrived to a call that involved a civil disturbance on Chester Street in Spencer. Ms. Mukes attempted to intervene with an official police investigation. Ms. Mukes informed the officer on scene, that the citizen who called her wanted to file a complaint against him. Ms. Mukes stated to the officer that if this citizen filed a complaint and it came across her desk, she would be forced to make a decision he would not like.

• More recently, Ms. Mukes’ management decisions have compromised the safety of police officers by not allowing them to replace needed equipment on police units that had been previously submitted by Chief Green and approved by Ms. Mukes with purchase orders assigned. Officers have been denied purchases previously submitted by Chief Green, and approved by Ms. Mukes with purchase orders for new tires for patrol units and new uniforms. If the worn tires fail, this not only endangers the lives of the officers, but also the lives of the citizens of the City of Spencer.

• Ms. Mukes has shown an unwillingness to provide requested city records to the FOP lodge representative who will assist in the current union contract negotiation with the City of Spencer. In previous contract negotiations, Ms. Mukes has shown the same stalling techniques, and complete lack of willingness to make the department better. This directly ties to the department’s ability to hire and retain full time officers, which directly correlates to the department’s ability to properly protect the citizens of Spencer.

• Recently the City of Spencer was the target of an investigation by the State Auditor and Inspector’s Office where three former city employees are now facing criminal charges for embezzlement. In this investigation, countless mismanagement errors and lack of oversight were discovered under the leadership of Ms. Mukes. State Auditor and Inspector, Gary Jones, stated, “overall, we found the city’s records to be poorly maintained, vague, inaccurate, and, in some cases, contradictory and/or missing,” He went on to say this was one of the worst city audits the agency has seen. This included delays, at the time there was no-payment of child support for members of the department, causing interest and penalties to be assessed against this employee. With such a devastating and embarrassing report to the community, city leaders took no action to hold Ms. Mukes accountable for her poor management practices that continue to affect daily City operations.

• In January of 2013, a City Public Works Department employee was involved in a workplace violence incident with another city employee. A criminal investigation was conducted by the Spencer Police Department. The agency presented its findings to the Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office, where, recently, charges were filed against this employee. At no time has the city manager taken any personnel actions against this city employee, who according to city personnel policy 16.6: The violations set forth below are considered causes for immediate dismissal, but are not limited to the following: Deliberate or careless conduct endangering the safety of himself or other employees, including the provoking of or instigating of a fight during working hours or on City premises. This is the same city personnel policy that an officer was recently terminated for violating, even without any evidence of wrongdoing. Lodge members feel this type of action on the City Manager’s part is unfair and double standards are applied.

The above examples are but a small sample of the instances in which the city manager has demonstrated that she is either unwilling or incapable of carrying out the duties of City Manager in a professional, honest, and ethical manner. The City of Spencer deserves visionary leadership that genuinely fosters professional growth and encourages staff in achieving that vision. Ms. Mukes poor treatment of staff does nothing to build a healthy and successful team, and no one should have to work in such a hostile work environment.

We, the members of Lodge 153, bring these concerns to your attention. Furthermore, the Union and its members hereby issue this letter of no confidence in City Manager, Nicole Mukes. It is therefore, the Union’s belief that without serious changes and intervention by the elected officials of the City of Spencer its employees and citizens will continue to be crippled under the rogue and unstable leadership of Ms. Mukes. The Union requests that the City seek the removal of, or request the city manager resign, her position for the safety and wellbeing of the members of the police department and the citizens of the City of Spencer.

Sincerely submitted on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 153 and its membership,
Doug Spencer
President