I am personally sadden that CM Larson has denied she has done anything wrong. She has continued to elaborate why she did what she did was right and just. She made comment to all the good she has done for the city. At no time does she state that what she did was wrong and apologize.
I have written and spoken to this a number of times and only wish to add a few points.
What CM Larson did is not allowed by law. Her actions were also in the capacity of a Council Member---these are not personal issues that have bled into her public role. Her basic argument tonight was 'I thought it was important to give the gifts to the individuals I gave them to for being kind to me and that the city should pay what I thought was the right amount'. First this is not what she claimed in the original mileage reimbursement. She ask for mileage expense and only mileage expense for a trip she did not drive and incurred no expenses. A Council Member or Mayor has no authority to spend a penny of tax payer money for a gift or simply to make up an amount to pay someone. This is so far beyond rational thought it is hard to comprehend why anyone would think this is ok.
She brought out a claim by the City of Cambridge for mileage reimbursement. She did not initially state that she personally asked for the billing after she was caught and after this whole episode went public. I had to add those details to which she agreed to.
This action of hers adds to the concern of how she is using her office to try to find alibis for her story.
The comment was made why are we talking about this again. The reason's are two fold. First many members of the public asked for the item on the agenda. Secondly CM Larson's continued statements and actions have made it clear further action was needed.
The comment was made that Council Members do activities that we are not paid for or reimbursed for. That is very true...it is part of the job we asked the public to elect us to. We serve the public. It is a hard and thankless job many days of the week...but we each asked to do it. CM Larson has been paid over $1,000 in mileage reimbursements the last couple years. Far more than any other member.
I am also concerned with thought of entitlement that was expressed tonight. I fear this sense of entitlement was at the root cause of this episode.
The first step to repairing the damage CM Larson has caused is if she will accept what she did was wrong. I do not know if the public trust or my trust will ever be repaired but I know for certain it can not be if she continues to make excuses and continues to put the city in jeopardy of breaking state law.
The following actions were taken tonight:
A vote of no confidence was passed on a vote of 3-1..Duff-Kolb and Wimmer voting in favor of no confidence in CM Larson and Johnson voting against.
A vote to remove CM Larson from all her Council appointments. Same vote totals as above.
There were several comments from citizens angry about CM Larson's action's including a petition asking her to resign.
I hope the city will be able to move on from this matter. The Council has taken as severe an action we are entitled to take. I did ask CM Larson to resign but she refused to do so. She will continue to serve her 4 year term unless she chooses to resign.
This will put extra pressure on the remaining Council Members to carry the full council load. This should be a measure of how strongly the majority felt action had to be taken.
About Me
- George
- I have served the City of Isanti as Mayor since 2007. We have accomplished great things together and I look forward to building on our success. United, we move forward to a better future. You may contact me at 763-442-8749 or e-mail me at george@georgewimmer.com.
20 comments:
I am greatly disappointed that CM Larson refused to step down tonight.
George, can you explain to me what a vote of no confidence is and what it means going forward for the council?
Thanks
I have a large amount of respect for the Mayor and Council members Duff and Kolb this morning for their stand they took at last nights meeting. We all know that she has done many good things, no one is dening that, but that does not make her actions right. Council members Kolb and Duff and the Mayor understand this. For this I am greatful. We could use more people like you as leaders on the council. I also was wondering why there was no one that stood up for her other than Mr. Johnson. Where were all her supporters? I am also saddened that Johnson does not recognize the wrong she did. I hope everyone will remeber this come election time. Last night she stated that she needed a ride back and forth at the convention because she didn't want to walk in the cold. Then later she said that she shoveled out three driveways for her neighbors. She's from the fit city, I think she could have walked those few blocks or asked for a ride from a co-worker. I hope we can get past this now and go about buisness.
I was at last nights council meeting and appreciate the efforts of George, Alan and Jeff in handling the Sue Larson issue. This was a tough issue and Ms. Larson made a fool of herself trying to defend her actions. It does not seem fair that the rest of the council now needs to add to their full schedules to cover CM Larson's assignments. If the majority of the council voted no confidence in her I would believe that it is hard to have her sitting at the council table making motions and giving her thoughts. She has yet to apoligize or recognize what she did was stealing from the taxpayers of Isanti. Also the question needs to be asked why was her milage bill at $1000.00 for the last couple of years, far surpassing anyone elses. How many other false reimbusments have been submitted over this time? Thank you George, Alan and Jeff for standing up and taking a strong stand on this issue.
If Sue Larson truly loves this city and wants to see it continue to move forward in a positive light she needs to act in the best interest of the city. RESIGN ! ! ! Take responsibility for her own actions, make an apology and resign for the good of the city.
She could even plead ignorance not knowing what she did was wrong.
I remember reading her website this summer when someone asked her 'what her qualification where' and all she did was list a bunch of seminars she went to. Has she ever taken a basic accounting class or an ethics class? I also remember something about her wanting to spend city money on educating people who couldn't run their own household budgets. What a joke!
I am an accountant and if an employee (which CM Larson is for the people of Isanti) turned in a bogus expense report. This would be investigated and verified (like it was) and the employee would be terminated! Especially after the credit card issue last summer (giving her the benefit of the doubt on that) but this is strike 2! And who knows what else has gone on! It makes me think that this was the 'norm' under the prior regime.
This Expense Report with the excuse of 'buying gifts' for the family a CM of Cambridge is a joke! If that was truly her intent and she thought it was a valid expense (which it isn't) then the expense report that she submitted should have been turned in as follows: Gift for CM of Cambridge's family $50.00 with receipts attached. It is so obvious that she truly knew this expense report was not on the up and up.
Can we have a re-call election? What is this vote of no confidence?
I would hope Sue would understand what she has done and please leave.
Thank you George for taking the lead. I read your statement today and it was great. Thank you and Duff and Kolb.
The Stars story on this was TOO funny!! toward the end of it, it said all city credit cards are under lock and key until needed, hehe..
The story in the Star was too funny, says city credit cards under lock and key until needed
Hey since Kolb got in what about Dan??????
We want Dan!
I would say that at least three of the council members showed that they still understand right from wrong and that people that cross the ethical line must be held accountable for their actions.
Thanks for looking out for the folks!
I have now lost all faith in Council Member Johnson as well. He basically stated last night that Larson's indescretions should be overlooked because of all of her community involvement.
So with that I guess that we should petition to change the Ten Commandments to read: Thou shall not steal. (Unless you do community service work)
You get the point.
Based on the comments that came out at the council meeting that appear to fly in the face of Larson's spin on the subject.
The Credit Union apparently verified that the card was mailed to City Hall's P.O. Box. Larson stated that it was sent to her house. Either she actually moved into the PO Box or possibly she was mistaken or confused.
The card itself was embossed with "City of Isanti". Larson stated that she thought that it was the Credit Unions way of acknowledging her seat on the Council. (I'm racking my brain her, but cannot remember the last time that I was sent a credit card without applying for it.)
I'm also somewhat surprised by the advice given by City Attorney Joslin to city officials regarding last summers credit card issue and his comments that it was basically not intentional.
If he actually bought into her line of BS, I am forced to question his judgement as well.
Your Council has taken this as far as they can without your help. The people that voted her in now need to ask her to leave. According to Dan Collison's post, he has started a petition that I would be happy to sign. Sign Dan's or start your own and then combine it with Dan's. The only way that she will get the message is if she gets buried in signatures.
Act now or hold your piece for the next three plus years because that is how long till the next election and your next chance to fix this problem!
It is unfortunate I still can not put this issue behind me.
First, Larson is still part of the council, as long as she is there I have no faith that we can move on as a city.
Second, Johnson has demonstrated that he also does not understand how things work and supports mischievous acts by others.
As demonstrated by the good ol' boy network, assuming Johnson is not on vacation, he and Larson will vote together on items. This leaves Duff and Kolb to either agree or disagree. If both Duff and Kolb vote the same, we look at a 2-2 vote with Wimmer having the tie breaker. This doesn't seem like an efficient way to go about things.
This leaves me with two questions. One is, how do we remove Larson from office?
The second is, how was the city attorney position decided?
Would someone PLEASE enlighten some of us on what the "no confidence" thing is and what that means as it pertains to the council?
I found this on AllWords.com.
Definitions
vote of confidence
vote of no confidence
noun
1. A vote taken to show whether the majority support or disapprove of a person or group in authority or leadership, especially the government.
Hopefully this helps.
Thats a pretty good definition.
So what impact will this "no confidence" vote have on the council? Or is it basically just to show that you don't approve of her and nothing more?
To make the petition easier, we need people to start one in their neighbor hood. That's where most of mine came from. It would be a great time saver. If you have a question on how to get started you can email me at djcollison@msn.com. With a team effort we can accomplish much more at a faster rate.
A vote of no confidence is the toughest statement we can make as a Council. Councils for better or worse are self governing. State law however states a Council can only remove a member for very specific issues such as felony conviction, public drunkenness or if they do not show for 90 days.
The standard should be very high so a Council simply can not get rid of someone they do not like.
So in other words George, even though you agreed on the "No Confidence" thing, in reality (and not to minimize it's importance in any way), it basically does nothing to change the situation as far as her votes counting or things like that, correct?
A Vote of no Confidence is the most severe statement a Council can make. As long as CM Larson keeps her seat she will be entilted to vote.
The only way that Larson will leave at this point is for her to be smothered with petitions from the voters of Isanti.
Is there any way an email petition could be started and just sent to Isanti residents and business owners.
It seems to me that it would get around quicker.
Dan Collison appear to be willing to be the collection point for these and his email is posted above.
She just has to go!
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