[ back ]
Leaked information comes at a price
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - July 15, 2009)
Leaked information comes at a price
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon City Council was close last week to killing funding for its investigation into leaked information that some officials said cost the city money in recent union negotiations.
Council voted 4-3 against an ordinance that would have transferred $25,000 toward the cost of the negotiations. It then voted unanimously to amend the legislation to allow $15,000 toward those costs.
Council took the action to pay bills already incurred in the three-week-old investigation into a leak of information from a closed-door session. That information reportedly was given to a service department employee involved in union negotiations with the city.
Council members debated whether the money for the investigation is worth it.
Councilman Jefferey Campbell Jr. said, even spending $10,000 on the investigation is a waste of taxpayers' money. He said the money could be better spent on needed projects within the city. "This is too much," he said.
Mr. Campbell said the city is becoming known for such issues, rather than for its accomplishments. He said nothing will be settled once the investigation is concluded, nor will anything positive come from it.
But Councilman Philip King said, without the investigation, there will be no checks and balances in council.
"For us not to find out who did it means that council can do whatever it wants," he said. "Any member of this council can do whatever it wants at any time it wants without fear of reprisal or any accountability. And, I'm sorry, somewhere along the line we've got to say enough is enough. No matter what it costs, someone violated our ethical code of conduct, and we've got to find out who did it."
He said the city could avoid the cost of an investigation if the person who betrayed council's trust would just step forward and admit wrongdoing.
Councilwoman Deborah Reiter said she could not go along with the requested amount, because council hadn't heard from more residents. While she believes the investigation is important, she said, she did not want to act after only hearing from two residents.
Councilwoman Leslie Bednar said she also was uncomfortable with the amount being spent. But she said it's the end result that is important.
She said the leak already has cost the city money, and, without any measure of accountability, the city likely would lose more in the future through similar actions.
Mayor Karen Simpson said the issue revolves around the city's integrity. Too often, she said, there are reports about public officials at the state and federal level who have committed some misdeed, and she does not want that for Chardon. "I want this city to be clean of that," she said.
Mrs. Simpson said, even if people do not believe in executive sessions, all council members took an oath that they would respect the confidential nature of those discussions.
Unlike Mr. Campbell, she said, she believes something positive could come out of the investigation. She said it would instill faith in the city's public officials.
[ back ]
