The city of Rosemount and its police chief have severed ties, two months after he was put on leave amid complaints city officials say were levied against him in an anonymous employee engagement survey.
The city council on Tuesday approved Mikael Dahlstrom’s resignation and a separation agreement, which includes severance and benefits pay totaling just over $164,000.
Mikael Dahlstrom (Courtesy of the City of Rosemount)
Dahlstrom, a 20-year Rosemount police veteran, was put on paid administrative leave Oct. 1, with the city announcing the move two days later on its website in a brief statement that gave no explanation as to why it was made.
The city in a second brief statement on Oct. 21 said that it “received several internal complaints” about Dahlstrom and that it was reviewing them. The statement said that per the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, the existence and status of the complaints are public, but complainants’ names, the nature of the complaints and other related information are not.
The separation agreement was approved as part of the city council’s consent agenda, so it wasn’t discussed on the record prior to its approval.
However, Mayor Jeff Weisensel read a prepared statement, explaining “the city received several complaints via an employee engagement survey. We understand that our community is highly aware of this situation and I want to assure you that our city council here takes this issue very seriously.”
City spokeswoman Lee Stoffel said Wednesday the survey was sent to all city employees in August through the civic engagement online platform Polco, and that it was voluntary and anonymous. She said the survey won’t be made public.
“Our legal counsel has confirmed through the state that we won’t be required to release the survey results,” she said. “And because the survey was given on the basis of anonymity, we’ll stand by that promise to our employees.”
The survey, which closed on Aug. 17, included asking employees to rate several aspects of their jobs and their supervisor’s performance. It also asked in which department they worked and if they had “additional comments, concerns or suggestions to help improve your experience” with the city.
‘City takes workplace culture seriously’
Dahlstrom was promoted to chief in June 2019, following 13 years with the department. He’d been a patrol officer, South Metro SWAT team leader, investigations sergeant and commander.
Attempts to reach Dahlstrom on Wednesday for comment were unsuccessful.
Regarding the payout, City Administrator Logan Martin said in a city council memo prepared before Tuesday’s meeting that “the terms agreed to are common practice in municipal government.”
Dahlstrom will receive six months’ salary of about $96,600, a year of health and dental insurance of $14,100, unused vacation pay of $19,700, and unused sick time, which will be put into his state health care savings account, totaling about $33,500.
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“We trust our staff and our leadership on this matter,” Weisensel, the city’s mayor, said in his statement. “Supporting a culture of high performance is a core pillar of our strategic plan. Morale, teamwork and personal accountability are just as important to our mission as the results that we deliver.”
Deputy Chief Carson Thomas was appointed interim chief upon Dahlstrom’s leave and will remain in the role until a permanent chief is chosen, the city said in a statement following Monday’s council action.
“The city takes our workplace culture seriously,” city administrator Martin said in the statement. “Our focus now is on supporting staff, maintaining stability and continuing to provide the high level of public safety our community expects. We are committed to fostering a positive and healthy work environment as we move forward.”
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