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Dear Editor,
Eleven months after taking office as Mayor of Lewisville I have resigned that position. I am writing this letter to express why I resigned with the hope to educate citizens of Lewisville as to the goings on in their City government.
There is an immediate need to clean up the City government in Lewisville and to get the City functioning as it is meant to be. Because of a small group of citizens in the City, now spearheaded by one who has been elected to the City Council, the City is in disarray. I have resigned as Mayor, the City Treasurer has resigned as of November 15 and since 2008, two City Council members have resigned. The previous Mayor Denny Jahnz, did resign, but did agree to withdraw his resignation and finish out his second year term.
This small group of citizens has cost the taxpayers in Lewisville huge sums of money because of their continuous negative attitudes towards the City government. City Council meetings have been ineffective because of these people. Professional people who have attended City Council meetings have expressed their disbelief of the attitudes and comments made by this group of people. After the initial plans for the Lewisville fire hall were finalized, this group of citizens demanded that the site for the building be moved. This move added another $6,875.00 to the cost of the building and delayed the construction start date. Most importantly, Lewisville will lose $40,000.00 in IRS interest credit rebates because the completion date was delayed due to the move of the site.
There were individuals who wanted to donate labor to help finish the fire hall. Because of this group’s constant negative comments towards others who were involved in the initial construction, these people have chosen to pull back their offers, costing the City more. The heating installation bill now cost $2,800.00 more because the labor that would have been donated has been hired. The City Council chose to give the electrical bid on the fire hall to a company that bid $1,982.00 rather than to give the work to the company that had the lower bid of $1,780.00. The company with the lower bid had also donated $1,459.00 in work to the fire hall.
The current City council voted to pay for the repair of a homeowner’s sewer at a cost of $7,200.00 This action meant spending public taxpayer’s money on a private property. Lewisville’s city attorney wrote a letter to the council telling them that they should not do this, but the current council chose to go against their own lawyer’s opinion and pay the bill. This Council also voted to pay for the repair of all future sewer repair bills for citizens in the City. This could ultimately bankrupt the water and sewer account if enough sewers fail.
At the November Council meeting, this Council member voted to hire a new City auditor. Richard Holmberg has been the City auditor for 20 years. This group of citizens have pushed to get him replaced for several years. One Council member stated at a meeting that “the citizens of Lewisville do not trust him.” What they are saying is that he is covering up for the City Clerk who has been under fire since 2005. He did not cover for any alleged thefts by the City Clerk. He would not risk his licensure, his reputation or his livelihood for the City Clerk of Lewisville. Over the next three years, the new auditing firm that this Council voted to hire will cost Lewisville $3,300.00 more than Mr. Holmberg would have. This is a Council that had to ask for an advance in Lewisville’s first 1/2 tax levy money from Watonwan County in May 2011 because they had no money to pay the bills.
This group of citizens has been after the City Clerk for seven years to resign. She received a letter in the mail telling her to move out of town. She has been and is publically accused of stealing from the community. Three Council meetings over the past three years have been spent discussing whether or not she could steal from the City. Former Mayor Denny Jahnz spent the majority of his fours years in office showing these people that she could not and did not steal from the City. Yet these people do not leave it alone, and continually come up with ways to try and get her to resign from her position. In August 2011 it was falsely reported to the Minnesota Secretary of State and Don Kuhlman, Watonwan County auditor that she was not allowing people file for office in the City of Lewisville. This action also cost Watonwan County taxpayers money since there was a sheriff’s investigation as to whether the charges were true or not. They were not. The new Council person also supported the person who made these false allegations in his race for Mayor of Lewisville. It is my belief that the main reason for this new Council member to be elected is to finally get rid of Karen Altenburg as City Clerk.
It is my hope that others in the community will realize the shortcomings of their city government and express their concern to the City Council.
Roy Hodge, Former Mayor of Lewisville
Dear Editor,
Eleven months after taking office as Mayor of Lewisville I have resigned that position. I am writing this letter to express why I resigned with the hope to educate citizens of Lewisville as to the goings on in their City government.
There is an immediate need to clean up the City government in Lewisville and to get the City functioning as it is meant to be. Because of a small group of citizens in the City, now spearheaded by one who has been elected to the City Council, the City is in disarray. I have resigned as Mayor, the City Treasurer has resigned as of November 15 and since 2008, two City Council members have resigned. The previous Mayor Denny Jahnz, did resign, but did agree to withdraw his resignation and finish out his second year term.
This small group of citizens has cost the taxpayers in Lewisville huge sums of money because of their continuous negative attitudes towards the City government. City Council meetings have been ineffective because of these people. Professional people who have attended City Council meetings have expressed their disbelief of the attitudes and comments made by this group of people. After the initial plans for the Lewisville fire hall were finalized, this group of citizens demanded that the site for the building be moved. This move added another $6,875.00 to the cost of the building and delayed the construction start date. Most importantly, Lewisville will lose $40,000.00 in IRS interest credit rebates because the completion date was delayed due to the move of the site.
There were individuals who wanted to donate labor to help finish the fire hall. Because of this group’s constant negative comments towards others who were involved in the initial construction, these people have chosen to pull back their offers, costing the City more. The heating installation bill now cost $2,800.00 more because the labor that would have been donated has been hired. The City Council chose to give the electrical bid on the fire hall to a company that bid $1,982.00 rather than to give the work to the company that had the lower bid of $1,780.00. The company with the lower bid had also donated $1,459.00 in work to the fire hall.
The current City council voted to pay for the repair of a homeowner’s sewer at a cost of $7,200.00 This action meant spending public taxpayer’s money on a private property. Lewisville’s city attorney wrote a letter to the council telling them that they should not do this, but the current council chose to go against their own lawyer’s opinion and pay the bill. This Council also voted to pay for the repair of all future sewer repair bills for citizens in the City. This could ultimately bankrupt the water and sewer account if enough sewers fail.
At the November Council meeting, this Council member voted to hire a new City auditor. Richard Holmberg has been the City auditor for 20 years. This group of citizens have pushed to get him replaced for several years. One Council member stated at a meeting that “the citizens of Lewisville do not trust him.” What they are saying is that he is covering up for the City Clerk who has been under fire since 2005. He did not cover for any alleged thefts by the City Clerk. He would not risk his licensure, his reputation or his livelihood for the City Clerk of Lewisville. Over the next three years, the new auditing firm that this Council voted to hire will cost Lewisville $3,300.00 more than Mr. Holmberg would have. This is a Council that had to ask for an advance in Lewisville’s first 1/2 tax levy money from Watonwan County in May 2011 because they had no money to pay the bills.
This group of citizens has been after the City Clerk for seven years to resign. She received a letter in the mail telling her to move out of town. She has been and is publically accused of stealing from the community. Three Council meetings over the past three years have been spent discussing whether or not she could steal from the City. Former Mayor Denny Jahnz spent the majority of his fours years in office showing these people that she could not and did not steal from the City. Yet these people do not leave it alone, and continually come up with ways to try and get her to resign from her position. In August 2011 it was falsely reported to the Minnesota Secretary of State and Don Kuhlman, Watonwan County auditor that she was not allowing people file for office in the City of Lewisville. This action also cost Watonwan County taxpayers money since there was a sheriff’s investigation as to whether the charges were true or not. They were not. The new Council person also supported the person who made these false allegations in his race for Mayor of Lewisville. It is my belief that the main reason for this new Council member to be elected is to finally get rid of Karen Altenburg as City Clerk.
It is my hope that others in the community will realize the shortcomings of their city government and express their concern to the City Council.
Roy Hodge, Former Mayor of Lewisville
