In May, a group of former and current employees calling themselves the Friends of Botanic Gardens complained about Executive Director Brinsley Burbidge and Associate Director for Operations Joe Duran to the fifty-member board of trustees that governs the Gardens, says DBG spokeswoman Robin Lybarger. The Friends charged that senior staff members had allegedly fostered an atmosphere of intimidation, fired employees without cause, forced numerous others to resign, mismanaged finances and interacted inappropriately with female subordinates.
The board responded by assembling a committee made up of four trustees, hiring an independent investigator and meeting with the Friends in early June ("The Secret Garden," June 14). Over the next couple of months, the investigator interviewed 34 current employees and fifteen former employees, according to a letter written by DBG board president Bruce Alexander. During that same time, the four-member DBG committee spent about sixty hours looking into the accusations.
But when the investigation was done, the Friends group and DBG staff members received only a vague explanation from the trustees.
"The Executive Committee ultimately concluded that, through the investigation, the Gardens was alerted to some things it wants to do better," Alexander explained to the Friends in a letter dated September 26. "Although the investigation was a time for the Gardens to begin taking a look at itself, the Gardens has decided to continue its self-evaluation until January 2002. This evaluation may result in some reorganization....Before the end of the year, we are hoping to bring on a new senior-level human resources person who will report to the executive director and help us take advantage of our strengths and weaknesses.
"The Gardens has, in response to the investigation, decided on some additional action," he continued. "It will, however, not discuss the details of that action related to personnel-related matters."
When the investigator and the four-member DBG committee met with the rest of the board the day before the letter was sent, however, they provided only a verbal summary of their findings; they did not present the investigator's written report, nor did they offer specific examples of wrongdoing, says one trustee, who is furious with the way the investigation was handled. The trustee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would like to see more details of the investigation, especially as they relate to the way money is managed at the DBG.
"This is very serious," the trustee says. "We're dealing with city funds." (The City of Denver owns the DBG's land and buildings and provides the organization with $700,000 a year for operating expenses. Additionally, the organization derives almost half of its $7 million annual budget from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, which collects a 0.1 percent sales tax that benefits more than 300 metro area scientific and cultural organizations.)
As a result of the investigation, the Gardens hired Somerville Partners, "a nationally known firm that specializes in management practices, to work with senior executive staff to improve management of the Gardens," according to Alexander's letter. The trustee says these senior staff members are Burbidge and Duran and that they will undergo ninety days of counseling with Somerville. At the end of the ninety days, "an assessment will be made of their recovery and then a recommendation will be made about whether they're rehabilitated enough to stay on," the trustee says. But the trustee believes that since the Gardens used Somerville to evaluate Burbidge during its hiring process two years ago, it's a conflict of interest for the company to work with him now.
The end of the three-month counseling period would coincide with Alexander's statement that the Gardens' self-evaluation will continue through January. The trustee points out that Burbidge's annual contract expires in February and believes that some of the other boardmembers didn't want the expense of having to buy out the remainder of Burbidge's contract if he were fired before then (he makes approximately $150,000 a year); the trustee also thinks the board feared that Burbidge could sue them for wrongful termination. "A lot of boardmembers are upset, but they're looking the other way and waiting this out. We're a bunch of chickens." The trustee was also angry that the board was told not to talk about the situation with the public. "We were told to keep this inside the board and, if asked about the investigation, to only say what's in the letter. Everyone lapped it up."
Burbidge himself denies most of the charges and says that the claims of financial mismanagement and inappropriate treatment of female employees were unfounded. "The board asked us a whole series of questions about how we manage our money, and to the best of my knowledge, we answered the questions to their satisfaction," he says. "There were also suggestions that people were given special treatment or were fired or forced to resign for reasons related to sexuality, but nothing in the report substantiated those claims. I don't believe there were any wrongful firings during the time I've been there."
The two biggest issues that came out of the investigation, Burbidge says, were the need for a human-resources director to handle employee concerns, and criticisms about his management style, which centered around the perception that he is aloof. "Somerville will work with me so that I can be seen to be more accessible," he says.
He adds that he's not looking for another job. "I am totally and completely committed to running this institution, and in my humble opinion, I am fully equipped to do so," he says. "I expect the board to renew my contract, but that is obviously not up to me. Like any other human being, I have my imperfections."
John McLagan, vice president of the DBG board of trustees, agrees with Burbidge that the allegations of financial mismanagement were unfounded. "There were ten or twelve" allegations, he says. "Each one was looked at with considerable care, and they didn't hold water. To stand on the outside and make financial judgments is very difficult to do unless you have the books in front of you." Nevertheless, he adds, "Those allegations provided a couple of springboards that will lead to tighter financial controls."
As for the charges about inappropriate relationships on the staff, McLagan says, "Those constituted a minor part of the report in terms of bulk." He explains that Burbidge had a "platonic" relationship with a female employee and that some staff members felt the woman had gotten preferential treatment as a result. McLagan says the investigation found that she did not; however, to alleviate the concerns of other employees, the woman will no longer report directly to Burbidge.
The allegations about wrongful terminations, McLagan continues, was the result of a lack of "common-sense" human-resources policies. Had such policies been in place, he says, the allegations "would have held no water. One of the values that came out of this painful process was that we are going to tighten up human resources."
McLagan says it was he who asked the other boardmembers not to discuss the investigation. "I feared that if conflicting views of the allegations and resolutions started to be broadcast, they would simply escalate, and we'd have a real mess on our hands with people not understanding what we did."
The trustee who requested anonymity believes Burbidge should be fired. "I'm angry at the failure of this board to take responsibility for the proper management of the Gardens, and I'm angry that we've lost a huge wealth of knowledge through the resignations and firings of people. The board has let this thing go on too long," the trustee continues. "If they are really taking care of this by going through this ninety-day thing and then letting him go away, fine. I just want to be positive that his contract isn't renewed, but no one has assured me of that."
