LAKE PARK —
Immediately following the Citizens to be Heard portion of the regular Lake Park council meeting Tuesday night, council members Eric Schindler and Paul Mulkey tendered their resignations.
“This resignation does not come easy for me,” said Schindler. “I will not compromise my morals by actively participating in this administration’s endeavors, as it goes directly against my commitment to the citizens of Lake Park.”
“I cannot, in good conscience, be a part of the Council when they act so recklessly, as to place the City in jeopardy,” said Mulkey. “To remove a City Clerk who single-handedly ran the day-to-day functions of the city shows no compassion and a willful viciousness.”
Schindler cited that his reasons for leaving were in response to the events that occurred during the Jan. 3 council meeting in which City Clerk Ann Peterson, Fire Chief David Brown and Police Chief Bert Rutland were not re-appointed and no explanation was given. He also stated that new appointments were decided by Mayor Ben Futch, along with council members Sandi Sherrill and Russell Lane before the open meeting.
“In my opinion, perhaps if this newly appointed mayor and council had attended mayoral/council school first, they might have had a better understanding of governmental policy and order,” said Schindler before he resigned.
Both council members thanked the citizens for allowing them to serve and both were treated with applause from the audience, which was followed by the pounding of a gavel by Futch to keep order in council chambers. After Mulkey resigned, he pointed out that the city was “closed for any new business due to the lack of a quorum.”
A special election will be required to fill the two unexpired terms of Mulkey and Schindler. The date for that election has not been determined yet.
“I had heard this was going to happen. It was no surprise,” said Futch after the meeting. “They’re grown men and they can make their own decisions. That was their prerogative.”
Lane said the city would continue to operate and the budget for 2012 was already set in place.
“It’s disheartening that they didn’t want to continue to work on things,” said Lane. “A lot of misinformation was given. We’ll continue to do what we can for the citizens. We’re not going to do anything unethical or illegal. We’re not going behind anyone’s backs.”
Futch said that financial discrepancies had provided the Lake Park general fund with approximately $76,000 in unreported funds from previous budgets.
“We’ve had some internal controls... I was going to report on the technology at the end of night. When we get all our information in, I’ll be making a statement,” said Futch. “I wanted to do that in an open meeting, but it’s probably going to be awhile before we have an open meeting.”
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