Ombudsman calls Walker councilman's response to conflict complaint 'unacceptable'

WALKER – A Walker City Council member denies he had a conflict of interest when he cast the deciding vote to re-appoint himself fire chief.

However, the Iowa Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman has chastised Bill Smith for that vote and several others on fire department matters. It noted that although the city attorney advised him there was no “immediate” conflict of interest, “the better practice is clearly” to abstain from voting on matters that affect the fire department.

Ombudsman Bill Angrick, in a report issued June 21, found it unacceptable that Smith, a council member for nearly six years and fire chief since 2002, will not promise to abstain from voting on fire department matters despite what he called clear legal precedent that his past votes constituted a conflict of interest.

“Our elected officials have a moral and ethical obligation to put the interest of their citizens first,” Angrick said. “When Councilman Smith puts his personal interests first, he undermines the entire concept of representative government.”

Smith, however, insisted Monday that he was putting the interests of the city and fire department ahead of his own. He would have preferred not to vote on those issues, but personality conflicts on the council caused a problem that would not have been resolved if he had not voted.

“I wish none of this would have taken place, but there's a whole story behind this that I don't want to get into,” Smith said. “If common-sense had prevailed I wouldn't have had to do that … but I had to be the one to suffer the consequences.”

In the report, the ombudsman detailed at least 10 instances – including six times when he vote to break a 2-2 tie --in which Smith voted on matters directly related to the volunteer fire department.

Iowa's courts have repeatedly stated a conflict of interest exists when a council member potentially stands to benefit personally from a vote, the ombudsman wrote in his report. As such, the Iowa Attorney General has opined that “a chief of a volunteer fire department who is a city council member should abstain from the decision making process and vote of the council on fire department matters.”

Phil Auld, mayor since January, agreed with Smith that “some personal conflicts boiled over into council meetings.”

While the ombudsman expressed disappointment that Smith has not promised to abstain from future votes on fire department issues, Auld said the fire chief has not voted on those issues this year. That's the way it should be, he added.

If Smith did vote, Auld said, “I would make an issue of it. It's definitely a conflict of interest.”

In the future, Smith said, if there a 2-2 tie on a fire department matter, “I'll bite my tongue and walk away.”

The ombudsman's report is available online at www.legis.state.ia.us/ombudsman.

The ombudsman's office investigates the administrative actions of most state and local government agencies in Iowa, in response to complaints or on his own motion. It may also help people effectively raise their concerns to government agencies or understand why an action was taken.

Iowans can contact the Ombudsman at (888) 426-6283 or

ombudsman@legis.state.ia.us.