Former city staffer loses bid to get job back

Fired over lead poisoning prevention program failings

A staffer who played a key role in the city's troubled program aimed at preventing lead poisoning among Milwaukee children lost his battle to get his job back.

Richard Gaeta, who served as the city's environmental health field supervisor, was fired from the Milwaukee Health Department on Aug. 31 amid investigations into the struggling agency. He appealed his firing, and argued during recent hearings before the Board of City Service Commissioners that he should get his job back.

But late last week, the City Service Commission sided with Milwaukee's health agency, determining his firing was justified.

Gaeta's firing was one of several disciplinary actions against department staffers triggered by investigations focused on mismanagement of the city's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

City officials accused Gaeta of resisting the use of federal funding to clean up lead hazards in homes that had poisoned children living in them.

Gaeta was also accused of placing extra restrictions on applicants — or those trying to participate in programs to remove paint and other lead hazards from their homes — and failing to follow the guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was also accused of bullying co-workers and contractors hired by the city to remove lead hazards from homes.

Gaeta repeatedly defended his conduct, and during a hearing last week said he pushed for changes to the problemplagued city program.

For example, Gaeta said he tried to encourage others in the department to shift the focus of the lead poisoning prevention program, which has faced heavy criticism for not prioritizing the clean-up of homes with lead-poisoned children living in them.

He said it was a "longstanding understanding" among city staffers that lead abatement was focused on primary prevention, or preventing children from being poisoned, rather than cleaning up homes with poisoned children living in them.

During the City Hall hearing, Gaeta said he remembered telling his boss, Lisa Lien, that "we need to shake things up and do things differently, especially in terms of enforcement."

His attorney portrayed him as a scapegoat, saying Gaeta was being blamed in an attempt to deflect responsibility from others, including top ranking city officials in the administration of Mayor Tom Barrett.

Lien, Gaeta's former boss, decided to resign rather than be fired, the records show. Her resignation took effect July 30.

Lien, who served as the city's home environmental health manager, was previously suspended for 10 days a year ago after city officials found she was "ineffective," "insubordinate" and "incompetent or inefficient" in her work.

Debate during last week's hearing also focused on penalties for contractors who worked with the city on lead cleanup efforts.

Gaeta was asked about "clearance wipe fees" for contractors who failed to adequately remove lead hazards from homes, and what consequences contractors who failed to abide by program rules faced.

An attorney for the city argued that Gaeta, despite trying to distance himself from the program's problems, should have known better. Gaeta was accused of giving fluid answers and painting a negative picture for federal officials — one that contributed to a stop work order from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, health officials said.

A number of Health Department staffers have faced discipline over the past year.

Margot Manassa, the city's public health nursing coordinator, received a written warning in September 2017 and was suspended for five days in April after she allowed children with lead poisoning so severe they had been hospitalized to be released and sent back to homes with lead hazards.

Tiffany Barta, the city's director of nursing, was suspended after officials determined she worked to "sabotage" others in the department.

In texts previously obtained by the Journal Sentinel through a public records request, Barta repeatedly slammed her co-workers and urged former Health Commissioner Bevan Baker not to trust some of them.

The texts also show Barta and Baker were aware of the crisis months before it was made public. Barta raised concerns as early as September 2017 about what would happen to Baker if this information got out.

"If this gets out, that the lead program is this messed up," Barta texted Baker in September 2017. "We will be held to the grindstone!"

Baker resigned abruptly in January. The Health Department and its lead program have since been the focus of several investigations, including state, federal and city probes.