City Officials Elected by the People To Uphold City Charter
To the Editor:

According to last week's paper, the city manager violated the City Charter and the mayor supports that violation; i.e. the hiring of a relative of an elected official to be employed by the city. It is my understanding that city officials are elected by the people to uphold the City Charter. They are not elected into office to make independent decisions/assumptions regarding expenditures of tax dollars to "help out" individuals of their personal choice.

It seems logical that they must be held accountable for their actions by the city council as a whole. It is their job, indeed their duty, to acknowledge any mistakes that have been made and correct them. I am concerned and alarmed that, in this case, this does not seem to be happening. All elected officials are accountable to the citizens who voted for them.

At the last council meeting, some members expressed concern in regard to the tight city budget. In my opinion, the $1,600 paid out in error should be repaid to the city by the person or persons responsible for the misspending.

I encourage the citizens of St. Ignace to take an active role in their city government, both now and at election time. These are your tax dollars. Contact your council person.

Barbara Cope Ryerse

St. Ignace