Ward 2 Councilwoman Ruth Brown announced her resignation at Hillsdale’s Dec. 3 city council meeting to avoid a potential court case.
Her announcement resulted from a controversy over whether or not she has a conflict of interest in a contract the county recently proposed to the council. The problem arose by her positions on both the council and board of county commissioners.
The city council voted to approve her resignation Monday, and Brown said it was with great difficulty that she resigned, but that it is in “the best interest of the city of Hillsdale.”
“The council is trying to get off on a fresh, confident foot, and this is just a distraction,” Brown said after the meeting. “I just want the council to be able to get down to business and worry about the issues of the city.”
City Attorney Lew Loren said, after reviewing many similar cases and opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States, that the only solution was for Brown to vacate one of the offices.
“There is no incompatibility because of Ruth,” Loren said. “There is an incompatibility because the person who holds both seats owes a duty to both entities that are separate and distinct from each other. She can’t wear two hats at one time.”
Loren said if she had not vacated one of the positions that she could have been charged with a misdemeanor.
Brown accepted the city commissioner position in July 2013, and said she was not aware of the potential conflict of interest by her holding both positions.
“When I was appointed commissioner in July, they said I could do both,” Brown said. “But when we started to do the contract between the city and county, it came up that it violates the Incompatible Public Offices Act.”
Loren said that the attorney general verified in July that there was no incompatibility by Brown holding both offices, but the problem arose when he received a request for the proposed contract between the county and city.
“I knew that this would present a problem for Ruth’s continuation in both seats,” Loren said.
Brown was first made aware of the issue on Nov. 1 when Loren sent her a letter addressing the problem.
“It was only four days before the city election,” Brown said. “By then, it was too late. I just wish I could have known earlier so I could have taken my name off the ballot and someone else could have stepped up.”
Despite there now being two vacancies on the city council, the other being Mayor Scott Sessions’ former seat in Ward 3, Sessions said he believes the council will “get by.”
In order to have a special election in May 2014 to fill the vacancies, a resolution must be brought to the council for its approval.
