Enough of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
Enough of not being honest and transparent with residents.
Enough of taking actions that could very well go against the village charter.
Since February, the village has been roiled in controversy caused by a slim, 4-3 council majority that’s fired top village administrators for reasons that aren’t clear. The council has also appointed a lawyer to embark on an “investigation,” though it won’t say into what or focuses on whom.
Right now, the village appears to be under the control of a new mayor even though the village has a manager form of government. But the manager has been fired for various alleged policy violations so an acting manager, appointed by the mayor and his council cronies, occupies the chair.
Two council members, Gale Joy and Tammy Loch, have said enough. They’ve taken the majority to task for refusing to come clean about what they’re doing and why.
Joy, in remarks placed into the village record, said no one has provided any evidence of wrongdoing. He said, despite asking, he hasn’t been “briefed on the scope of the investigation or any of the findings of the investigation. We have been given what they want us to see. They have given us nothing but allegations and speculation. "
He said the mayor started the process to remove administrators and he doesn’t have the power to do so under the charter and “broke the law” in the process.
“The fact is that they did violate their oath. They did break the law. There have been repeated violations of the Charter and Ordinances during this investigation, if you can even call it an investigation. I find it ironic that the mayor, the law director, and the acting manager follow the charter, the ordinances, the Ohio Constitution, and the US Constitution when it supports their cause, and violate them when it isn’t convenient.”
There are also questions about Mayor David Nickerson and his role in terminating village manager Glenna Madden, who years before fired him for what the village said was poor job performance. No one has yet answered why it’s appropriate for Nickerson to participate in the removal of someone who fired him and raises questions about his motive, even though he says he’s not out to get anyone.
This situation is exactly why communities need to support local news organizations. Without this newspaper and others, the people of New Lebanon would rely on officials saying, “Trust us, we’re acting in your best interests.”
I reached out to Nickerson with questions and have not yet heard back as of press time.
By remaining silent, the council majority has made it difficult to engender trust.
Joy and Loch should be commended for speaking out, not an easy task in a small village where neighbors know neighbors. Now, the village should demand a community meeting in which the mayor, acting law director, and acting manager detail who began this investigation; why certain people were targeted; why the mayor has been allowed to drive the process; and what the terminated staff did to warrant losing their job.
The council majority should embrace such a meeting because it would give it a chance to show why it’s taken the actions it has. After all, you have to acknowledge that there could be wrongdoing and that the council majority is doing right by New Lebanon.
Without answers, it’s hard to know if that’s the case.
Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each Sunday.
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