SPOKANE, Wash. — A Liberty Lake city council member's vow to vote against any mayoral appointments or library budget requests has now earned him an ethics complaint.
Council member Tom Sahlberg confirmed to KREM 2 News Friday he has filed the ethics complaint against co-councilor Chris Cargill, after publicly announcing his intentions to do so at the October 17 council meeting. The complaint accuses Cargill of dereliction of duty for his recent voting history.
Those votes and resulting complaints stem from a controversial ordinance passed, then quickly vetoed, in May.
The ordinance would've given the city council more oversight over the city's library board and policies. Mayor Cris Kaminskas vetoed the new law within days.
The veto stood after the council failed to reach the 5-2 supermajority vote to override it. After the June vote, Cargill vowed to vote against any of the mayor's appointments to city positions or library budgets until council was given oversight.
"Seems to me the only recourse we now have is to dismiss some of the library board members," Cargill said at the summer meeting.
Sahlberg, standing behind the podium as a citizen to announce his complaint October 17, said Cargill's actions were "personal, vindictive, and partial" and are evidence of dereliction of duty to his oath per the city's code.
"He stated that the library and board of trustees is quote, 'a rogue department accountable to no one,'" Sahlberg said.
Sahlberg said Cargill stood by his vows and, on at least four occasions, voted not to confirm mayoral appointments to the city's civil service and planning commissions.
"In these actions, he has directly challenged the executive branch and the municipal library to conform to his views of transparency and oversight," Sahlberg said.
Sahlberg declined an on-camera interview with KREM 2. We also reached out to Cargill, but our messages were not returned Friday.
Per the city's code of ethics policy, an independent attorney will now investigate the allegations. This hearing examiner will determine if there's enough to support the accusations, and then issue a report to city council.
Council has several options if probable cause is found, up to dismissing Cargill from his position or a reprimand. The hearing examiner may also find there's no probable cause for the accusations.
The investigation will be confidential until a report is released, the city's administrator tells KREM 2 News. A report may take several weeks and could come out by December.
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