Former Fairmont city employee, Peter Bode, is the most recent in a string of city employees over the last few years to have resigned citing issues with the council and/or public.

Bode, who just resigned on Feb. 7, shared a message with the council during its meeting on Monday night. He said that city staff has often been the target for personal attacks and campaigns to demean and discredit and told the council that administration does not do enough to protect city staff from people on the internet or interference of individual city councilors.

He suggested the council develop a policy governing the communication practices between the city council and the city staff. He said a policy like that could have prevented his resignation and will protect not only the rest of staff, but the integrity of the council.

As always, Bode laid out everything he said in a very respectful, factual and professional way. He thanked the council and his colleagues and said he had no ill will but offered up his contact information moving forward.

How unfortunate to see someone of Bode’s caliber depart from the city. This is yet another position the city has to hire for and more work load will no doubt be put on other staff with this new vacancy.

But the bigger issue is the underlying reason why staff are leaving. Staff has said for months that they want security measures at city hall, only to have some council members question it and to have the request be ridiculed by select few community members on social media.

Only just recently has an additional door been added on the second floor of city hall that does not hinder the public from meeting with staff, but only allows the public to be properly guided and directed to the staff member they seek. It’s similar to what you see upon entering certain areas of a bank or a medical facility or a school building.

Going back to Bode’s departing request for a communication policy makes one wonder how hard it would be to implement this for the city staff who have been hired, trained and trusted to do their job for the city and its people. Surely council members, who have been elected to serve the city, should be willing to abide by such a policy to ensure proper and productive communication.

We can only hope that a policy or similar protocol is put into place before more city staff follow suit.

As for Bode’s claim that city staff has been subject to ill-intended slander on the internet, it checks out. It’s likely safe to say most people are aware it’s happening, even though just a select few are engaging in it.

It’s also probably safe to say everyone’s heard the saying, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

There’s a time and place for voicing dissatisfaction with a service. In the case of city staff or any services they offer, the public is welcome to call or email city hall where they can speak to a department head about their concern.

This seems like a much more productive, appropriate and mature way to handle a complaint, rather than posting photos and personal information pertaining to an individual on the internet.