EDITOR:
On March 21, 2022, the Parkville Board of Aldermen accepted the Parkville Ethics Commission report by a vote of 6-1. This report found former mayor Nan Johnston in violation of eight counts of misconduct and recommended a strongly written reprimand of the mayor by the board of aldermen. The reprimand was read aloud at the March 21 meeting. The ethics commission compelled the board of aldermen to act against the mayor, something they had refused to do on their own.
As a concerned citizen, I asked the aldermen three different times to publicly and formally address the former mayor’s DWI arrest. They tried to sweep it under the rug. It was not until I filed a complaint against her to the ethics commission that something was done. Yet less than a year and a half later, the board is trying to eliminate the ethics commission. Why? My guess is that the existence of the ethics commission makes them uncomfortable.
Even at that March 21 meeting, two of the aldermen were recommending a review of the ethics code as written. One of them, Phil Wassmer, stated that the ethics code was “seriously flawed” and wondered “who’s next?” He was one of the aldermen who asked newly hired city administrator Alexa Barton to review the municipal code. That’s a strange thing to make a priority when Parkville has more pressing problems.
Eliminating the ethics code requires an amendment to an ordinance. It has not passed yet because the board did not have the five votes needed for passage (two aldermen were absent at the last board meeting). I am fully expecting it will return to the agenda in the near future.
Without an ethics commission, where would a citizen bring a complaint? The board has said that you could take a complaint directly to them (that sure didn’t work for me). That’s like appointing the fox(es) to guard the henhouse. The other option would be for the complaint to be sent to the state (Missouri Ethics Commission) with the hope that it would be addressed at all and if so, in a timely manner.
If you believe as I do that the ethics commission is an important check on the mayor and board of aldermen and should be left alone, contact your aldermen and let them know.
The following are the ones who want the ethics commission eliminated: Phil Wassmer (Ward 1), Bob Bennett (Ward 2), Stephen Melton (Ward 3), and Michael Lee and Allyson Berberich (Ward 4). Add Mayor Dean Katerndahl to that list as well. If there was a tie, he would cast the deciding vote and he is also in favor of getting rid of the ethics commission.
--Elaine Kellerman
Parkville