Should city officials be provided an attorney for alleged ethics violations?

In a 6 to 3 vote, city leaders approved an ordinance that would allow the city to pay attorney fees for city officials and city employees accused of ethics violations.

Some community members spoke during public comment about the issue during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Recently, a council member was accused of violating the code of ethics and obtained their own attorney for representation. The council members paid for the legal fees on their own.

Other council members agree that the city should assist in providing them representation for ethics violations and reimburse the coverage.

However, taxpayers believe they should not have to pay for a council member’s attorney.

“My concern is that tax dollars are going for something that isn’t really necessarily needed to be done," resident, John Weber said. "These people don’t have to hire attorneys. That’s a big concern. I’m very fiscally conservative so I don’t want to see money wasted. So that’s a big concern of mine.”

Ultimately, the council decided to provide attorney representation and will reimburse the city employee up to $5,000.

The new change won’t go into effect until October 1.

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