Marion City Council suspends developer's weekly e-mails
Staff reporter
After receiving complaints of unfair treatment from at least one local business, the Marion City Council voted 4-0 Monday to suspend distribution of Economic Development Director Jami Williams' weekly "Did You Know" e-mails to local residents.
"This was started as an information highway," Councilman Gene Winkler said, "but according to this letter, we have made someone unhappy. It's one of those things that's 'heck if you do and heck if you don't'."
The letter alleged that Williams, after a local business had sought to be included in the e-mails, had gone out of her way to create and insert into her e-mails promotional messages for a competing out-of-town business, even though the competing out-of-town business had not asked for them.
The letter added that other local businesses had expressed concern over how competing firms sometimes had seemed to receive preferential treatment.
After Winkler mentioned the letter during the public forum portion of Monday's meeting, Williams asked whether she could see a copy.
Mayor Mary Olson said that she could not because the letter had been marked personal and confidential by the sender.
City Attorney Dan Baldwin said, however, that since the letter had been discussed by Winkler in open meeting, it had became public and that Olson should let Williams read it.
The letter was written by Eric Meyer, president of Hoch Publishing Co., which publishes the Marion County Record.
Winkler said that when the "Your Turn" column, an anonymous forum for readers to express their views, was published in the Record, "the same thing happened."
"The shoe's on the other foot now," Winkler said.
However, in a statement after the meeting, Meyer said that wasn't the issue:
"As a private citizen, Jami Williams has every right to express whatever opinion she may have. As a public official, however, she should not be allowed to take sides.
"The sad thing is that all of this yet again detracts for what everyone should have as our common goal — to promote the economic development of the City of Marion."
Winkler made the motion to suspend distribution of the e-mails.
Olson asked the council not to take any action until Councilman Bill Holdeman was in attendance. She said Holdeman, who was on vacation, had asked that the topic be delayed until he could be present.
Councilman Stacey Collett, who said Holdeman could bring it up again if he saw fit, seconded the motion.
Williams then asked whether she could send out one last e-mail before distribution was suspended. Olson said she wanted to see it before it was sent.
Hilary Dolbee, a member of Marion Economic Development Advisory Board, said the "Did You Know" e-mail had been developed to pass on information.
"Anyone wanting to put information on it should be able to do that," she said. She said that the city needed to promote businesses in any way possible, which included the Internet.
"If you limit yourself
