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Censure of colleague now up to City Council
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - October 29, 2009)
Censure of colleague now up to City Council
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
The City of Chardon's board of ethics review made it official last week, voting unanimously to call for a formal censure of Councilwoman Mary Bramstedt.
After the board agreed unanimously days earlier for the disciplining of Mrs. Bramstedt, it formalized that decision with the passage of an announcement of decision and recommendation.
It says in part, "The board of ethics review pursuant to its authority in section VII recommends that the council of the City of Chardon adopt a resolution of formal censure, admonishing Mary Bramstedt for her conduct of disclosing confidential information in violation of ethical consideration Nos. 10 and 18, Section III (the city's code of conduct)."
Mrs. Bramstedt, who attended the meeting, did not comment, although she handed out a copy of a newspaper article from 2003 that quoted one of the three members of the board of ethics, John Park, a former councilman and mayor.
Mrs. Bramstedt had claimed at the board's earlier meeting that Mr. Park was biased toward her, holding up the newspaper article as evidence. The article recapped a 2003 council election in which Mrs. Bramstedt was defeated. Mr. Park was quoted as saying of her defeat, "I want workers, not talkers. I've said it publicly before, there are people who like to talk about what they do, but based on my campaign literature, I show people what I've done."
Mr. Park denied any bias in the case. He said three people reviewed the materials independently, and all reached the same conclusion.
Their conclusion was that a leak of confidential materials had occurred and that all indicators point to only one person -- Mrs. Bramstedt.
"In summary, the board finds that privileged or confidential information discussed by council during an executive session on June 12, 2008, was disclosed by Councilperson Mary Bramstedt," it said.
The board's finding also recapped the events that led to an investigation by an outside firm at a cost of approximately $25,000 to the city.
It noted that the June 12, 2008, council executive session involved negotiations between the city and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, Union Local 1384. The council discussion revolved around the issue of longevity pay, one of several negotiating points the city was taking to the bargaining table.
"The union negotiator told the city's negotiator that he knew the city's position on longevity pay, and the city would not seriously negotiate to eliminate longevity pay for current employees; and the union's negotiator gave two sources of the information," the board announcement stated.
Board members expressed relief that the matter was closed.
"I'm glad to see it go," board member Carolyn Schwan said.
Mr. Park also expressed relief, saying he hoped it was the last time the board would have to meet.
Mrs. Schwan said she was pleased by the announcement of the decision prepared by Chardon Law Director James Gillette.
"This is what I wanted it to say," she said.
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