Good for her..I am a victim of bullying in the work place as well. It never ceases to amaze me that is is tolerated in this day and age. I as well had to leave a job I loved due to this. It is time that us victims stand up to these adult bullies. Some attorney needs to look into this untapped lawsuit market to show these companies that this treatment is unethical and illegal!!

As a downtown property owner and a business owner, I like to thank Meghan for all her help. I wish her the very best and it is downtown's loss.

Seems like this person was just not committed, and may be job hopping to get a larger salary.

Danny: Pretty uninformed, ignorant comment. Rule of thumb - educate yourself, then speak.

Danny are you one of the bullies??

What?? You mean there's a litigation market that hasn't been tapped into by some vultureesque lawyer? Aren't there enough frivolous lawsuits clogging our judicial system? Same rule for you, waukeshanative as for Danny. Adults should be able to navigate this journey called life without rushing toward a lawsuit.

This Business Improvement Director was nearly impossible to get a hold of and did nothing to help improve my business. Now we find out that our hard earned tax dollars were being wasted on this director's salary of $65,000 per year. Government at its finest. Unbelievable!!!

When none of these city governments and companies due anything to protect the innocent victims they s/b held liable. I am sorry. They say that work place bullying is worse than any form of sexual harassment in the work place and I am testament to that. Is it not clear that this is a problem when not only one but two people have left this position due to this. People need to wake up and get with reality and see that you are loosing good employees because we have no voice.

Name some names......call out the bully(s). I would love to see the which business's are the anti's to FFNL, street closures, guitar, etc. And which ones support these activities.

The thousands of families that have experienced the downtown Art Crawls, Farmer's Market, Friday Night Live music, and outstanding businesses, know that this is not because of one over-paid and under-committed government employee.

The positive momentum downtown is the result of the dozens and dozens of people who are united, care about our sense of community, volunteer, and remain committed to renewing our downtown. 

Thankfully our downtown businesses - and social, music and artistic events - will continue to move forward!

"over-paid and under-committed".

I sense a theme. An anti-Meghan PR campaign being waged here?

$65,000 is not over-paying for someone who is at Meghan's level of skill, well-connectedness with City and County government, experience in fundraising, and combination of assertiveness and political savvy. Add to that the stressful work environment, and working 6 days a week. I don't know how many hours she put in every week, but I would imagine it was well over 40, without overtime pay I would bet.

The situation in Waukesha in general--and in downtown Waukesha in particular--is so disfunctional. I hope this is a wake-up call. But I'm pretty sure that after Karen Richards resigned people said this should be a wake-up call.

Meg is and was a tireless worker for the BID. She was also an effective champion of the BID. I was the Bid President when she started with the BID and I found her work ethic and job skills to be unmatched. I was also on the Committee that hired her. This Committee received more than 30 applications for the position and Meg was the unanimous choice to become the BID Director. She was not "over paid" or "under committed" or "impossible to get ahold of."

Based upon how others have been treated in the postings in the past, expect numerous unanimous postings insinuating that Meg was a bad employee in some way. I think discourse on important issues like this would be so much more worthwhile if the comments on blogs and online news sources would require the posters full name. To me, an anonymous post is pointless. There is no way to gauge the posters credibility or their knowledge of the subject. An anonymous posting is just a pointless rant.

Sonia, do you work for big government? And Shawn, how have you specifically made downtown better?

Sure the small businesses in downtown have heathy debate, but it's the small businesses that brought us the Art Crawls, GuitarTown and Friday Night Live, which thousands of people enjoy.

The small businesses know best!

Becky,
True the businesses have brought good things to downtown but don't forget who purchased the properties and have a larger investment in the downtown than do any of the business owners. Why aren't our concerns given equal respect? That is a question which I have never had answered.

The entire BID staff should be scrapped. There are still people in Waukesha with integrity and the desire to serve in a respectful manner. Let's get this done!

Yes, if the outgoing BID director had integrity she would not be make false allegations against the downtown small business owners. She simply has not backed up her allegations with any facts. 

Also if the outgoing BID ditector was respectful she would not speak poorly about the place she worked, especially since she already has another job lined up. How will her future employer feel about this backstabbing behavior? It's simply not professional.

Does the BID Board or Committee get tax dollars from the city's budget??? If that is the case, aren't they subject to open records requests and posting meeting notes?
As a resident of the citizen of Waukesha, I am concerned that there are allegations of a potential hostile work enviroment. If the city does provide tax dollars, then wouldnt' that potentially put the city at increased risk, especially if those allegations are true?

It is clear Bill that you are not Bill..No integrity..false allegations, not respectful or professional..backstabbing behavior. I have no doubt who Bill really is. The description fits to a tee.

I am a business owner and I am sorry to see Megan leave. She was great to work with. The downtown has had very positive growth and there are many to thank for it. The BID is just one part of the team that has moved the city forward. It is a shame that the disbutes continue and that the BID director has been in the line of fire. I will miss Megan.

"Chris B" you should run for alderman.

So she quit because her boss was giving her a hard time? Big deal... Not everyone is going to get along with their boss or bosses. There are personality conflicts that come into play all the time in the workforce. Only in a government job like does does anyone seem to think they have all these rights that nobody else has in an "employment at will" state.

This commenting thread is crazy...makes my head spin. This comment was not actually written by this person and that comment was uncalled for, etc., etc...what is going on here? Small town politics turned ugly. At least Sarah Millard is giving all of you unhappy people a chance to vent from behind your computer screens, which I give her credit for.

I wish all of you Waukesha people would have been this vocal about the murder of the gas station attendant last May, an innocent hard-working father and husband, as you are obviously so angry about this story. A little perspective here, people! R.I.P. Mr. Rana.

I am, on both a professional and personal level, deeply saddened by BID Executive Director Meghan Sprager’s resignation. I am especially saddened that Meghan’s resignation comes as the result of what she identifies as months of inexplicable conflict and an insurmountable lack of civil discourse among the current BID leadership.

Meghan’s enthusiasm and optimistic approach towards the success and viability of the downtown business district was evident to many of us who worked closely with her, whether collectively or individually. She displayed both integrity and fairness in her interactions with stakeholders and business owners - especially during times of conflict and controversy – a characteristic I very much appreciated and respected. As a business owner in the downtown, I know I am not alone in feeling downtown Waukesha is losing both a valuable asset and ally with Meghan’s resignation and her commitment and dedication to the downtown business district will be deeply missed.

I have lived in Waukesha my entire life and I can honestly say that I have not seen this city so active and popular as it has been for the past couple of years. No matter what many people think, Waukesha is a great city.
From the comments in this thread it is obvious that Meghan Sprager (and many others too) have played a very important role in the development of our Historic Downtown. Thank you to everyone who deserves praise ;-) However, I am truly saddened that Meghan, or anyone for that matter, is forced to quit a job that they have a passion for.
Like the commenter above noted, it's easy for anyone to sit behind their PC, laptop or tablet and criticize or bash people publicly here on Patch. Those individuals should be ashamed of themselves. I am a proponent of the truth that any situation, no matter how bad it may appear, will work itself out in time. People are people, and varying personalities will eventually find their way through the fog...
As a final note, I would challenge anyone who thinks that they could do better than Meghan Sprager or any others who sacrifice many hard hours to make Waukesha what it has become, to step up in the volunteer line and give it a shot. Which begs the question: What do you do for the benefit of the city of Waukesha?

I understand Meghan not wanting to name names. However, by not naming people she is essentially making everyone on the board appear guilty.

If I were a BID board member and had a good working relationship with Meghan and the staff, I would be furious. Furious that community members may think that I was the problem. If she makes these claims about a hostile work environment, it is very irresponsible to not let people know what the problems were and who was causing them.

To let the community just assume and circulate rumors about who the bullies were does even more harm and a greater disservice to the city and BID.

I think at minimum a meeting with the Mayor is in order before she leaves so he is fully aware of who is causing problems on BID and arrangements can be made for them to step down or not be reappointed.

Slander: false and malicious statement or report about someone.

Since Meghan is refusing to provide concrete evidence regarding her comments, all we are left with is her committing slander: a false and malicious statement or report about the BID.

Can't people get sued for slander?

There's a really good piece here by Susan Annunzio of Chicago Booth business school on the 'executive bullying effect' - it's not always as overt as seems to be the case here - but that makes it even more important to shine a light on it IMO - good read: http://www.iedp.com/Blog/My-Way_or_the_Highway

Daniel that was a great article and truly explains bullying in the workforce. Seems like this day and age that more people are falling into this predicament. The attitude in corporate settings is to stay silent or else. When the middle class continues to be squeezed we are left with no voice in order to earn a paycheck to support our families. In the end here the residents need to speak up and get these pompous BID individuals that are the bullies off this board once and for all. Here we loose a hard working and committed young woman with a zest to improve Waukesha and willing to work the extra hours and go way above and beyond! It is fairly evident that the perpetrators here have an agenda and it is not what is best for Waukesha. Also for the record I have no connections with the BID or this young woman in any way. I am just a concerned lifetime citizen of Waukesha as well as a family member of a long time 30+ years Waukesha business owner.

Anyone can claim hostility or bullying, however without any specific examples of names or situations, all we are left with is baseless rumor and innuendo. Meghan has provided no specific examples, and therefore has discredited the entire BID and herself.

Meghan does NOT need to name names in a public forum -- which is just gossip. What gives weight to her concerns is the respect she garnered as a professional and committed employee. She has made the BID board aware of her concerns (which is a matter of public record) -- it is THEIR job to conduct an investigation, preferably by securing an objective third-party to interview parties and report on findings. What THEN needs to be reported to the public is ONLY whether or not her concerns were found to have merit and WHAT specific steps are being taken to address them moving forward.

The mayor should be involved, but his appointments to the board seem to be a part of the tension. Any solution should also address this conflict in a way which gives the community confidence that the board's membership truly represents the district's interested parties proportionately (building owners, business operators, residents).

It may necessitate calling for the mass resignation of the current Board to start with a fresh slate and to put the credibility of the BID above personal ego. Who knows? But attacking Meghan is unproductive and malicious. She is only the latest BID director to depart under a cloud. We should, as many here have done, thank her for her exceptional and professional service and wish her well, as we focus on solutions moving forward.