GUEST COMMENTARY: Snyder's D.C. trip shows poor judgment
Collin Czilli
NWI Times
Feb 8, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/guest-commentary-snyder-s-d-c-tripshows-poor-judgment/article_3484db0c-adc2-513d-a46f-af75385f9b83.html
Over the past few months, our city has experienced some rocky political waters. That is no secret. But during the past two weeks, those waters have become even rockier.
To be clear, for myself, the decision to request that Mayor James Snyder resign was a difficult decision to make. As a student of political science and the Constitution, I am a firm believer in a person’s right to a fair trial and the belief that he or she is innocent until proven guilty. However, a cloud of corruption hovers over our city, and the only way to begin to restore trust in city government is for Snyder to resign today as his trial is not scheduled to begin until April.
I would be remiss to not mention the progress that our city has made during the past decade, and Snyder has been a large part of that progress. But these legal issues have become a distraction to our city’s future success. Snyder must realize that his actions are having a direct impact on Portage’s growth.
With that said, I would like to address the mayor’s recent trip to Washington, D.C. for the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and for the presidential inauguration.
I take no issue with the mayor and his family attending the conference. I do not take issue with Chief of Police Troy Williams and Assistant Chief Ted Uzelac attending as a registered "security detail." This designation allowed both to attend the conference for free.
After discussing this situation with both Williams and Uzelac, I believe their attendance was good for our city as they brought back very valuable law enforcement information from the multiple seminars they attended.
Personally, I believe these types of conferences provide very valuable information that can help us better serve the residents of Portage. That is why I will be attending the National League of Cities Congressional Conference this March in Washington. I look forward to attending and bringing back valuable information for all elected officials and city employees.
However, I do take issue with a few facts about the mayor’s trip:
Snyder upgraded his standard room ($429 conference rate, per night) to a suite ($539 per night) and failed to inform the Utility Service Board of this. He was reimbursed for four nights at $539 per night plus tax.
The conference ended on Jan. 19 at 2:30 pm. Snyder remained in Washington until Saturday morning. He attended the inauguration, parade and an inaugural ball. Williams and Uzelac escorted him and his family to these events. The mayor’s activities on Friday were not city business.
The city is being asked to cover the lodging costs and per diem requests for Williams and Uzelac for Friday during the inaugural activities, which were not city business.
Snyder drove his $866-a-month leased city vehicle to Washington.
Snyder used a Utility Department credit card that was not assigned to him, which is a violation of our city credit card ordinance.
The fact is, the mayor exhibited astonishingly poor judgment during this trip to Washington, D.C. He should not reasonably expect that the taxpayers will cover the cost of an upgraded hotel room or the costs associated with him and his family attending the inauguration. I expect that the mayor will pay back the upgrade cost to the Utility Service Board. Additionally, Snyder should personally cover the cost of the two hotel rooms and per diem requests for Chief Williams and Assistant Chief Uzelac for Friday night. The taxpayers of Portage deserve an explanation from Snyder regarding his poor choices.
Serving the residents of Portage is the honor of my life, and I will continue to do so with the utmost respect for your hard-earned tax dollars.
Collin Czilli is a Portage city councilman. The opinions are the writer's
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