Tuma denies nepotism claims involving wife

On Dec. 3, Rachel Boss sent an email to “Team O-Town,” comprised of employees of the City of Owatonna.

The director of human resources was announcing that Sharon Brown had joined the city’s human resources team “part-time, temporarily … to assist with clerical functions.”

The email was confirmation of an offer of employment Brown received Nov. 25 for the position of human resources intern as a “part-time, hourly, non-exempt position with an hourly pay of $20.”

Both documents were obtained by the Steele County Times through a public data request.

It was a hire that raised more than a few eyebrows: Brown is the wife of Owatonna City Administrator Jenna Tuma.

While other employees – both current and former – have voiced concerns about the apparent nepotism, city leadership said there are safeguards in place.

“The City’s personnel policy guides fair hiring and supervision practices for all employees, from seasonal to full-time,” Tuma said in response to questions about the issue. “Following state law, I cannot comment on any employee in particular, but the City takes its personnel policies seriously and expects them to be applied consistently and fairly in every situation.”

Brown isn’t new to the city’s payroll; she also worked as a Water Safety Instructor at West Hill pool.

Before her retirement, she was an IT project manager and park management analyst in the Twin Cities area, and has also worked as an environmental service manager for Mayo Clinic Health System.

Brown has a bachelor’s degree in marketing management and a master’s degree in urban planning.

Her LinkedIn page also describes her as a health and wellness coach and a mental health first aid instructor.

What isn’t listed anywhere is a job or degree in human resources, which was another point of contention for a number of Brown’s coworkers.

“How is that not nepotism,” a former city employee asked. “It’s just another set of eyes for Jenna.”

Another employee echoed that sentiment, alleging Brown’s hire was “to report to Jenna on other employees’ activities and to attend City employee events so she can support Jenna in her role, while adding another paycheck to their household budget.”

It defies business sense, the second employee said.

It also defied common sense, said David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University.

In addition to teaching political science, Schultz has taught classes in public policy and administration, as well as ethics, and authored or edited more than 200 articles on topics including civil service reform, election law, eminent domain, constitutional law, public policy, legal and political theory, and the media and politics.

“I would think anyone would consider that a conflict of interest,” he said.

The city’s nepotism policy specifies that “a close relative of a city employee may seek and obtain city employment as long as the city employee to whom the applicant is related does not participate in or otherwise influence the hiring of such close relatives.”

It goes on to say that “an employee shall not indirectly or directly supervise another employee who is a close relative.”

Tuma could not answer about the specifics, due to data privacy laws.

“Minnesota law protects the privacy of individual personnel matters, and we take that seriously, so we won't discuss specific cases publicly,” she said.

An amendment made to the local policy in 2018 says, “exceptions to this policy may be approved by the city administrator based on the specific circumstances and subject to any conditions established by the city administrator,” and “in granting this exception, the city administrator shall ensure that family members are not given preference in the hiring or terms of employment based on the familial status.”

Assuming she did not participate in the hiring of Brown and does not participate in the day-to-day operations of HR, as city administrator, Tuma is still the de facto supervisor of all city employees.

Boss, the director of the city’s HR department, reports directly to Emily Thamert, the assistant city administrator.

Thamert reports to Tuma, who did not respond to a specific question about the appearance of a violation of the nepotism policy.

Kevin Raney, president of the Owatonna City Council, said the city’s “personnel policy guides fair hiring and supervision of all employees, and I have full faith that City staff have and continue to follow this policy.”