Muncie city council split vote nixes plan for restricting city employee board members
A Muncie City Council ordinance that would bar certain city employees to serve on boards and commissions failed in a split vote at a Monday night meeting. IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports.
Audio Transcript
As introduced, the ordinance text discussed reducing the risk of “undue influence.” Board and public comment on the ordinance focused on Muncie’s mayor appointing department heads and other city employees to citizen boards.
Patty Goddard is Muncie’s Director of Human Resources and serves on two boards.
“I serve as myself,” she told the council. “I’m not someone’s puppet. In fact, I will tell you, I’m appointed by the mayor. He came to a meeting two meetings ago. I objected to what he had to say.”
Many public comments supported the move. Rob Miller pointed out that people who serve on boards still think about their jobs.
“They’re sitting on this board. ‘Am I going to make my boss mad today? Are they going to cause something that will jam me up from a promotion? Are they going to do something to me?’ Who knows? It’s a thought. You’re not being threatened. But you always think about that kind of stuff.”
Through its two council meeting appearances, many changes were proposed that would specifically point to who would be restricted from serving. Department heads, executive staff, and direct reports were all considered for the final text of the ordinance. An amendment with new language by city council member Sara Gullion was approved, which changed the ordinance from how it was introduced in the previous month.
Council member and bill sponsor Harold Mason said the ordinance was intended to be an important step towards strengthening transparency and accountability. He said it was meant to show clear ethical boundaries that protected both public officials and the public they serve.
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Council member Ro Selvey told the public she was voting no on the ordinance, because you “don’t make legislation because you don’t like one department head.” She lamented the loss of expertise if department heads couldn’t serve.
In a 5-4 vote, the full ordinance was voted down.
Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour did not speak on the issue in either council meeting where it was discussed.
Correction: This article has been corrected to reflect that Gullion’s amendment stating which employees were included in the ordinance passed its council vote.
Stephanie Wiechmann is our Managing Editor and “All Things Considered” Host. Contact her at slwiechmann@bsu.edu.
