2014-04-28 Reg Part 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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possible violation of Section 67.145; however the firefighters continued to appear in campaign materials while in uniform. Ms. Forster stated that the City’s decision to suspend these firefighters was based on their violation of the state statute and was not in any way aimed at limiting their freedom of speech rights. She stated that as a result of this violation the firefighters could have been terminated, however the decision was made to suspend them for 30 work days. Ms. Carr stated that she had made the request to discuss this issue although it was not specifically related to the issue at-hand. Ms. Carr stated that Ms. Forster’s statement that the firefighters were in uniform does not necessarily mean that they were in uniform since Ms. Forster has told Council in no uncertain terms that she works for the City Manager. Ms. Carr stated that in her opinion the determination has to follow the City’s policy related to the definition of a uniform. Mayor Welsch asked Mr. Walker if he could clarify the suspension date. City Manager Walker stated that the suspension was for 30 shift days. Mayor Welsch asked members of the audience to abstain from becoming verbally involved in the discussions of Council. Mr. Glickert asked Ms. Forster if she had sent a letter to the attorney representing the firefighters. Ms. Forster stated that the correspondence was sent via email. Mr. Glickert asked Ms. Forster if she could share the essence of that correspondence with Council. Ms. Forster stated that basically the letter informed their attorney that there had been campaign mailings distributed in University City and that the firefighters pictured in the mailings were in uniform, which is in violation of the state statute. Ms. Carr stated that she has been on both sides: seated in the audience as an active participant and is now seated on the dais. So before her colleagues have an opportunity to discredit anything she might say, she would like to point out that she has been critical of previous administrations regarding the use of taxpayer money for political purposes and tonight she is going to be critical of the current administration. Ms. Carr stated that to put a historical perspective on this, several years ago when the City placed Proposition S on the ballot, she worked against its passage. During that particular election the City published a brochure; which they called educational and informative, that illustrated the consequences for the City if the tax increase did not pass. Ms. Carr stated that the City failed to respond to her concerns about the inappropriate use of taxpayer money to publish a brochure which supported a political activity, so she filed a complaint with the Missouri Ethic’s Commission. She stated that the MEC ruled in favor of her position and said that the City brochure should have included a paid for statement, since taxpayer money was used to support a political position. Moving forward to the 2014 Municipal Election Campaign where the City’s own newsletter was used to support certain candidates, Ms. Carr noted that the City Manager had written a half page article on the state of the City wherein he stated, “City Council, namely Mayor Welsch, Council members Glickert, Kraft, Price and Sharpe, have over the past three and a half years approved surplus operating budgets and we have built up healthy reserve funds which can be used to address infrastructure and capital needs”. Ms. Carr requested that the City Clerk attach a copy of the article written by Mr. Walker to the minutes. She stated that the City Manager mentions five Council members by name; clearly leaving out two members, and that three of the five mentioned were running for reelection. This issue of ROARS which was sent out to thousands of households ten days before the election provided many voters with an opportunity to read it prior to casting their vote. So the question that came to mind was whether any person reading this article could reasonably infer that the City Manager was endorsing a slate of candidates. 3