Tower City Council moves to investigate mayor for misconduct

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019—The Tower City Council has been in turmoil since Orlyn Kringstad took his seat as Tower’s new mayor in early January. The February 11 meeting, the city council’s third this year, proved to be little different.

The new year opened with a Tower employee filing charges against Mayor Kringstad and rumors began circulating in Tower that the city clerk-treasurer initiated the complaint and we reported on the presence of these rumors in The Tower News. These rumors, and our report on them, proved to be inaccurate when it was revealed on Monday that the complaint was, in fact, initiated by Steve Altenburg, the cities …

The mayor and Alderman Steve Abrahamson refused to hear the accusations when they first arose in January and found enough support to kick the agenda item down the road by tabling the issue until its next meeting at the end of the month. While that meeting did occur, Kringstad again was able to convince a short-handed council to table the complaint because he was uncomfortable addressing it with Abrahamson absent from the meeting.

Kringstad has pretended to be confused and perplexed by the complaint from the onset, although City Clerk–Treasurer Linda Keith assured the city council that the accused (Kringstad) was indeed aware of the complaint at the first January meeting.

Following an initial session, in which the city council managed to accept the present meeting agenda; again, for the third time, tabled the employee misconduct allegations and approved the two sets of January meeting minutes, the city council moved into a closed meeting to conduct an employee review of the city clerk, Kringstad announced. City attorney Andrew Peterson was available in the council chambers to provide legal advice to the council and the clerk’s Teamsters union representation was also on hand to represent Keith.

Upon conclusion of this closed meeting, the mayor resumed the open city council meeting. Had the city finalized any business it would have been obligated to announce its actions, however Peterson acknowledged that another closed session would be necessary and it can be assumed that no actions were undertaken and the closed meeting agenda item—Linda Keith employee review—was again, for the third time, tabled.

The city council now turned its attention to the employee misconduct allegations with Kringstad returning to this agenda item, forgetting his meeting protocol, and opened discussion even though he had earlier asked and supported tabling it.

Councilor and Acting Mayor Kevin Fitton, who has been keeping the council on track since the new mayor took office, asked why the agenda item was now slated for open discussion, when previously it had been planned to discuss the complaint in a closed meeting. Peterson, the city attorney, informed the city council that he advised the clerk to put it on the regular meeting agenda as it was an item that needs to be dealt with by the city council in an open meeting. Fitton, who has been managing the complaint as a member of the city council, Employee Relations committee and sought the city council’s attention in an attempt to act on it for the past five weeks, read the complaint into the record.

January 10, 2019

To: The City of Tower, Linda Keith

Re: Employee relations complaint

From: Steve Altenburg

It has come to my attention that shortly after the 2018 elections the newly elected mayor Orlyn Kringstad solicited the two female council members for their support to fire me as a city employee. There was no just cause given for me to be fired but he did tell them that I was sexist and should be fired for that.

I have not spoken to either council women about this matter, but this meeting was revealed to councilor Kevin Fitton from what source is unknown to me. Mr. Fitton then confirmed with council woman Anderson that this meeting had taken place at Mr. Kringstad’s main street business and that the accusations and substance of the meeting were correct, as reported to him.

As such I am filing this official complaint against Mayor Kringstad for his inappropriate actions and slanderous comments against my character.

Further I am requesting an official investigation into this matter as it would seem my protections and rights as a City employee are being threatened without cause or due process.

Thank you,

Steve Altenburg Tower Fire Chief/Tower Ambulance Director

Serving as the council member on the Employee Relations committee Fitton asked the city council to consider turning investigation of the complaint over to Pam Whitmore, the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust Collaboration and Mediation Manager.

Although it remained unsaid at the meeting, a quick review of the League’s website highlighting the services Whitmore provides insight on working together and implementing methods to resolve conflict, it appears that engaging with the League utilizing these free resources could potentially lead the city in a direction where it could avoid litigation.

Fitton explained that as a lone city councilor it would be inappropriate for him to initiate action unilaterally. This is a decision which needs to be made by the city council Fitton emphasized. He then met resistance.

Alderman Abrahamson tried to dismiss the need for any investigation. He said that he thinks it is inappropriate for the city to talk about an issue of Kringstad’s conduct before he took his oath of office.

There is so little information available so that he can vote on engaging with the League for services, Abrahamson said attempting to explain why he would vote against having Altenburg’s complaint against the mayor investigated. He explained that he was reluctant to talk about things he does not know anything about.

“I can’t imagine what was said,” Kringstad said., in defense of the charges against him.

“It’s a constant pattern of things that have been going on—(Kringstad) already attempting to push an agenda and trying to drag through the last several years, approaching only the two female city councilors and making a sexist comment … if true, that is disturbing. That’s extremely disturbing in this era,” Fitton said.

He also emphasized that it is inappropriate for the mayor to commence employee relations conversations before he was seated as mayor. Fitton explained that employees are protected by due process policy and that board action is required to consider actions against employees. This is not something the mayor can just choose to engage in. City actions and activities have to be approved by the city council. The mayor has no authority to act unilaterally.

Making it clear that other issues have yet to be fully brought forward, and to protect the city acknowledging a full investigation is warranted, Fitton, supported by Councilor Brooke Anderson, moved to authorize investigation of the primary complaint by the League of Minnesota Cities. The city’s attorney said that it was certainly within the city council’s purview to authorize having the League investigate.

Steven Wilson spoke against investigating the complaint saying that he did not want his tax dollars turned over for an expensive investigation. (It was already made clear that the league would perform its work for free) He said he was opposed to the innuendo utilized to justify the investigation. He incorrectly maintained that the extensive delays, since the complaint, were the fault of Councilor Fitton and made unspecific complaints implying Altenburg said inappropriate things in a coffee shop.

At this point I was attacked by an addled citizen who pawed at my raised hand and repeatedly said, “You’re from Soudan, you can’t say anything.”

I did indeed have my hand raised and was attempting to politely remind Wilson and the city council, that for six weeks, Fitton, over three meetings, has been imploring the city to address the serious civil rights violations charge made against Mayor Kringstad.

I accomplished exactly that, while the combative individual continued to harass me and push at me from behind. I did tell him to “shut up” and did say to him “find your mind.”

I was gaveled out of order by Mayor Kringstad, who suggested that I was disturbing the meeting while defending myself from assault. I reminded Kringstad, that he was accepting public input even though the city had yet to reach that point in its agenda and that he had just spent 20 minutes talking aboutn a motion and was readying a vote upon an agenda item that had been tabled more than an hour ago and the city council, to this point, had made no actions towards bringing it back to the agenda.

Upon careful review of the events at the city council meeting I am concerned that because Mayor Kringstad has singled me, and one or two others, out at every single meeting, it has made me a potential target for attack from disturbed people.

Finally, when these disturbances were over and discussion was complete Mayor Kringstad acknowledged, that since he was the accused party, he would ”recuse himself.” Councilor Anderson and Councilor and acting mayor, Fitton voted in favor of the motion. Councilor Rachel Beldo joined the mayor and abstained from voting. Abrahamson voted against the motion.

“The motion passes,” Kringstad said. The city’s Employee Relations committee will turn Altenburg’s complaint over for outside review and investigation.

Turning to public input again, the city council heard Marshall Helmberger, reiterating some of his chronic complaints against the city, its employees and officials. This time he accused certain, and other unspecified city officials of making defamatory comments about him. This time he seemed particularly peeved at Councilor Fitton. In the past Helmberger has targeted other officials or employees.

What was clear, Helmberger threatened tort litigation against the city

It is realy best described by quoting Shakespeare’s Macbeth, “It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”