Grievance why no details?

Question

The clerk has made an informal grievance against me for a sentence in an email they have taken offence to. They asked me what I meant and I sent a response with a mea culpa for poorly explained first sentence....

The Chair wants me to come to an informal meeting to discuss and has sent me the sentence - which is wholly innocuous. I have not consented to the meeting (I have a busy work life) on the grounds that they have not given me the details of the grievance. They keep writing back saying the sentence is the grievance BUT I cannot understand the problem with the sentence and they will not explain what is wrong with it?  It is not blasphemous, libellous, defamatory, sexist, racist, misogynistic or disrespectful. 

In the course of an email exchange about a proposed comms & media policy which had a troublesome paragraph (see previous question I have posted) - I wrote in response to another councillor (all cllrs were copied in on the thread) this comment wasn't even addressed to the clerk?

....There is the potential if picked up by the press that this paragraph could cause the council embarrassment and even more so if picked up nationally as per the gravestone issue. 

The gravestone issue refers to embarrassment caused to other councils nationally re laying down of gravestones that press covered.....it was poor reference to this example in my sentence. 

I am at a loss as to what is the issue - what should I do?

Answer 1

Just for fun why not ask what part of the Code of Conduct you have breached

Comments

I have but they have refused

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If this was me, and I was entirely confident that my actions were reasonable and honourable, then I would sit on my hands and do nothing.

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I am pretty confident that this is what I shall do

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You seem to be "coming up against it" quite a bit at the moment.  Is there an alternative approach you could take.  Its sometimes good to take things head on ... but there are other ways to achieve success ...

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Unfortunately I am too long in the tooth for the lack of intelligent debate or common sense required to do things the right way.....so I will probably carry on until I just throw in the towel - it does help when members of the public unannounced come up and tell you they've spotted all the good stuff I've promoted and achieved in less than 9 months so I can take that as comfort.

Answer 2

Just tell ‘em to grow up and put their bloody cards on the table or shut up.
They have no authority to convene a kangaroo court and continued reference to pseudo grievance is, of itself, inappropriate.
Don’t be cowed by it - get determined.

Comments

good points and thank you

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Your point about random members of public approaching you and saying they’ve noticed your good efforts…..

That will continue and multiply only if you stick with.
People DO notice.
Stick with it!

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Easily said than done if the Clerk has the support of a handful of weak Councillors then they can basically do what they want irrespective of any rules
I know of a case recently where a Clerk circulated an email criticising two Councillors yet a complaint against their actions was rejected even though it was in breach of the PC’s rules
personally had I been the Councillors concerned I’d have sent it straight to the Monitoring Officer