UPDATE: Portage council, mayor continue arguing
NWI Times
February 08, 2017
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PORTAGE — The City Council will meet in special session Thursday to complete what council President Mark Oprisko termed unfinished business regarding Mayor James Snyder.
The 8 p.m. meeting will be held at Woodland Park, 2100 Willowcreek Road.
The council is scheduled to vote on a proposed ordinance that deletes the $30,000 annual salary of the Utility Service Board chairman, a position that had been held by Snyder.
The council on Tuesday removed Snyder from that position.
Snyder said he plans to fight the city, noting the utility board voted 5-1 Wednesday to hire legal counsel to defend itself.
Snyder said state law protects him from the recent action by the council.
"My point is that there is a clear separation of power in the state constitution. They (the council) will be spending tens of thousands of dollars, and all they have to do is wait until my (federal) hearing is over," Snyder said.
Snyder was indicted in federal court in November on three counts including bribery and tax evasion. His trial is set for April 10.
The proposed ordinance to remove the salary attached to the position needs a second reading since it didn't receive unanimous approval when read on Tuesday, Oprisko said.
City Councilman John Cannon, R-4th, cast the only dissenting vote.
That change requires any future expenditures of the board to go before both the clerk-treasurer's office and the City Council, Oprisko said.
Oprisko said approval of the proposed companion ordinance will kill the $30,000 salary for the mayor.
"This (ordinance) will also delete the salary for any other board chairperson," Oprisko said.
The ordinance removing the mayor as Utility Service Board chairman was a way to put more checks and balances in place and to return finances back to taxpayers, Oprisko said.
Snyder has the option of vetoing both ordinances over the next 10 days, Oprisko said.
Council members gave two reasons for their actions regarding Snyder.
First, the mayor sought reimbursement for $93,000 of his personal legal fees prior to his indictment without seeking approval from the Utility Service Board.
Second, the council is also questioning reimbursement requests from Snyder after he took a recent trip to Washington, D.C., for a mayor's conference and to attend the presidential inauguration, taking two police administrators and his family.
Snyder traveled to D.C., on Jan. 16, to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting and the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Council members, including Oprisko, have asked Snyder in recent days to step down as mayor.
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