Article published September 04, 2008
Portage mayor resigns, citing council secrecy
Shutdown, firing are issues
BLADE STAFF
PORTAGE, Ohio - Just a year into his second term as mayor of this Wood County village, Richard Gill resigned Tuesday night, saying he'd had enough of council's "secret meetings, secret agendas, and personal vendettas."
Mr. Gill, 62, came under fire from council members recently for closing down village government for three days in July after he learned the village had not paid its insurance premiums. He said he was concerned about possible liability issues.
In addition, he clashed with council members over their 5-1 decision last month to fire the village administrator, Everett Foster. "They didn't give a reason, and it was against my recommendation," Mr. Gill said of Mr. Foster's dismissal.
He defended his decision to send village employees home in late July after learning that the village's liability premium had not been paid.
"I still think I did the very responsible thing, and if I'm going to err, I'm going to err on the side of protecting the village and the people who live here," Mr. Gill said, adding that he'd had enough. "I decided if they want to play silly games, they can play silly games by themselves."
Clerk-Treasurer Bruce Shepherd, a former mayor of Portage, said council was "very upset" with the mayor for shutting down the village when in fact the village was never uninsured."It was just that the bill hadn't been paid, but we never received a cancellation notice. We were never without insurance," Mr. Shepherd said. "If he'd called the insurance company, he would have found that out."
He said council has not held secret meetings or made decisions on the sly.
"He's reacting to an old way of council operating and that was when he was mayor and on council," Mr. Shepherd said. "It used to be an old boys group and at that time it operated that way. It doesn't operate that way anymore."
Council President Mark Wolford stepped into the mayor's seat after Mr. Gill read his resignation letter and walked out of the meeting Tuesday night.
It's unclear whether he will remain in the job.
Terry Burton, director of the Wood County Board of Elections, said he advised village officials to speak with the village solicitor about filling the mayor's seat if Mr. Wolford wasn't interested. He said typically the council president will become mayor and council will appoint a replacement council member until an election can be held.
In this case, the next municipal election will be held in November, 2009, at which time Portage voters will be able to elect someone to fill the remaining two years of Mr. Gill's unexpired term, Mr. Burton said.
- Jennifer Feehan
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