The gist
Council Member Peter Gordon submitted a resolution reprimanding Mayor Mike Snyder for posting personal financial information of City Council members on the internet. This comes after a discussion regarding whether council’s personal financial statements and campaign finances should be posted on the city website.
The background
During an Aug. 17 meeting, Snyder said elected officials’ financial information, which is publicly available, should be easily accessible for the sake of transparency with the public in the event a council member’s personal investments constitutes a conflict of interest when voting on city-related business. Rather than voting on a specific policy regarding financial disclosures, Council members asked the city attorney to research and provide a legal opinion on what type of financial information should be published on the website.
Several members expressed concern, including Gordon, who said posting certain financial details could make it easier for criminals to commit theft or steal a council member’s identity online.
On Aug. 21, Snyder made a Facebook post that included a list of banks members of council have mortgage loans with. The post did not include which council members held loans with the institutions.
What they’re saying
“I really felt like, in my opinion, it betrayed the trust of the rest of the City Council because we had given direction to the city attorney to come back and give us at least time to consider what what we wanted to do in the future,” Gordon said. “I felt that the mayor just decided to take it upon himself to go ahead and post it anyway.”
“To get reprimanded for not breaking the law, not breaking an ordinance, not breaking council protocol—just because I did something you didn't like—it's kind of a bully tactic, if you will, in my opinion,” Snyder said.
The vote
Council voted 5-2 to reprimand the mayor. Those who voted in favor were Place 1 Council Member Brian Thompson, Place 3 Council Member Randal Clark, Gordon, Wilcott and Place 6 Council Member Amberley Kolar. Snyder and Place 2 Council Member Dan Thornton voted against the measure.
