01302017 - News Article - Portage council call for mayor's resignation

Portage council call for mayor's resignation
NWI Times
Jan 30, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-council-call-for-mayor-s-resignation/article_b3075069-fa04-5665-a429-2f830c689ff9.html

PORTAGE — The City Council here has called for the resignation of Mayor James Snyder.

Council President Mark Oprisko, a Democrat, and Councilman John Cannon, the council's lone Republican, met with Snyder on Monday afternoon for more than an hour.

"I basically told him how I feel, as well as the others, that it is time to resign. The focus is now more on the indictment and the charges than the city," said Oprisko, adding he has had reports from employees that the mayor's legal status is impeding their jobs.

"I told him if you are not going to resign, stay home and collect your salary and let the city move forward," said Oprisko, adding that if he doesn't resign, the council will propose an ordinance to remove him as chairman of the Utility Services Board.

Snyder was indicted on three counts in federal court in November including bribery and tax evasion. His trial is set for April 10.

Oprisko said there are several reasons why they are calling for the mayor's resignation, including recent spending trends, the effort by the mayor to pay $93,000 of his personal legal fees prior to his indictment without seeking approval from the Utility Services Board and, most recently, his trip to Washington D.C. for a mayor's conference and to attend the presidential inauguration, taking two police administrators and his family.

Council members Sue Lynch, Liz Modesto, Scott Williams and Collin Czilli all said they agreed with Oprisko's and Cannon's request of the mayor. Member Pat Clem was out of the area.

"I am standing behind the city council members in asking him to resign," said Lynch. "If he truly loves the city, he needs to do what is best for the city."

"I am 100 percent in support of President Oprisko's decision to approach the mayor and ask him to step down," said Williams. "I believe the morale has been affected to prevent the city from operating properly and it is the time the council stepped forward and made a stand."

Modesto said "it is not just one thing, it is a combination of things" that caused her to agree to seek Snyder's resignation, citing recent issues with the mayor's spending.

"I still believe what I said in my statement of Nov. 18 to be true, Mayor Snyder is innocent until proven guilty and deserves his day in court," said Czilli. "However, after two months of consideration, I have reached the conclusion that if Mayor Snyder truly believes in Portage’s future success, it is incumbent on him to resign his office, effective immediately."

The council's call for Snyder's resignation follows that of Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham.

Snyder gave a statement to The Times via email saying "When I signed my oath of office there was no clause giving up my American Civil Rights, including my presumed innocence. My rights and my oath of office are no different than Councilman Oprisko or Councilman Cannon’s rights. They are correct that this is weighing heavily on Portage and we are operating well under these circumstances. Residents of Portage are receiving the great services they have come to expect and those services will continue because of the hard work of the public servants working. My dedication to working with other City elected officials has not feigned and together Portage will see more big things accomplished. Any rash decisions are ill advised and detrimental to the future of Portage."