It’s back to the drawing board for decorum rules at the city. On Tuesday night, the Bethel City Council decided to hold back on a resolution spelling out a code of conduct for council members after an outside attorney strongly advised against it.
Lawyer Michael Gatti said that the resolution, on the whole, was redundant, and that it “condensed” many procedural, ethical, and civility matters that couldn’t be addressed with a single piece of legislation. He suggested that the council amend laws already in place to meet their needs. One benefit Gatti did see in the resolution was that it highlighted the areas that the council may want to work on. Council member Perry Barr, who initially proposed the item, isn’t giving up just yet.
“I’m thinking that maybe even looking at some of the policies where we can maybe tweak some things in there that’ll hopefully make things smoother,” Barr told KYUK after the meeting.
All five present council members voted against the resolution, which failed.
In another action, the council turned down a pay increase for the open position of Finance Director and did not approve more funding for the outside consultant now doing the work. That failed in a two to three vote, with council members Carole Jung-Jordan, Mayor Fred Watson, and Vice Mayor Raymond “Thor” Williams in opposition. Council member Fritz Charles was out sick, and council member Mitchell Forbes was out on travel.