Letter to the Editor

I would like to take this time to address false accusations that were harmful to myself and two other Richland City Council members, written June 27 and printed in the June 28, 2023 News Review. In the article “Tensions Blaze Over Abrupt Removal of Richland Fire Chief,” Councilman Michael Hadley claimed in an interview with a reporter from “The News Review” that myself, David Balster and Alisa Tolle secretly met prior to the meeting and decided in advance to get rid of Ehrenfelt, something that goes against the Open Meeting Law and that we three councilmen carried out an illegal “witch-hunt” against Ehrenfelt. To set the record straight this did not happen. Per the Open Meeting Law council members can meet 1:1 to discuss city issues before, after or at any time as long as there are not three members which would constitute a quorum, and two council members can also meet with the mayor, who is a non-voting member at any given time to discuss city issues. The position of city council, people step forward and are elected to serve in these roles investing time and discussing issues for the best decisions that can be made for the majority of people in the community. I took an oath when elected to do what was in the best interest for the city of Richland. I hope in the future Mr. Hadley and newspaper reporters do more research before making these types of allegations and putting them in the newspaper. I did speak to Mr. Hadley in our last council meeting requesting he make a public apology and print a retraction, which I do not feel will ever take place.

Kathy Brower

Richland, Iowa