To Rodney Guthrie, Greg Richards, Dennis Perkins, Jr., Mark Souder, Sr. and John Droll:

I have lived in Italy most of my life. I have always been proud to tell someone that I am from Italy, born and raised. Even when living in Minnesota I would brag about my hometown and the people here. The people here are willing to help when someone needs help and that is one of the things that makes Italy great.

We all have our opinions. One of the reasons I enlisted and served in the Air Force – I felt a duty to the American people to try and preserve our rights. I also felt it was my responsibility to serve my country. I have no regrets for the time I spent away from home doing my job. Freedom of speech is one of those rights and I have chosen to exercise that right no matter how popular my opinion may be or who might disagree with me.

Having lived here most of my life I have seen councils and mayors come and go. That is politics. I agreed with some of the decisions they have made and some I don’t. We probably need to agree to disagree and every one try to get along.

Many people have asked me why there have been no comments on the mayors’ salary comparison article and I did not have an answer for them. Maybe it is because it all has been said and the facts stand alone. Maybe no one knows what to say about the matter.

I, for one, cannot understand in such an unsure economic time, why any council member could in good conscience, spend $15,600 per year that had not come up in budget workshops or laid out in the current budget. I may be wrong but I thought they had to stick to the budget except in case of an emergency. I don’t think the increase in salary was an emergency.

I would have hoped that the issue would have gone to the voters to see what we wanted the council to do. Something of this magnitude should have been at least discussed in open session to allow citizens to voice their opinions. It only came up at that last meeting and all discussion was done in executive session. I know this was legal, but sometimes being legal is not all that should be required of public servants. Doing the right thing for those that elected them is. Taking it to the citizens with a referendum would have been the right thing to do. Discussing it one meeting and then voting the next would have been the right thing to do.

Italy has had good mayors that had the city’s and citizens’ best interest at heart. John Goodman, Darrell Cockerham, and our current mayor, Frank Jackson are in this group. Until now, they only were paid a small stipend for attending meetings, etc. I would like for someone on the council to tell me when the job description changed to a full time job and why that need is there when we have a city administrator and other employees that are paid to do the day to day operations of the city.

This has nothing to do with the job Mayor Jackson is doing. It has to do with economics and the people’s voice not being heard. Before making a decision of this magnitude – $15,600 per year, could you not have asked John Q. Public what they thought? As I told the mayor on Main Street that day, “their (meaning the council) timing stunk”. With people losing their jobs, homes, cars, etc. was it the time to do what you did? Was it right? I don’t know – I am just one voter with an opinion. I just wish you would have asked some of us what we wanted you to do. Most of us would have told you and I for one would have asked you not to do what you did, at least until we see what the economy is going to do.

Can you, if the people request, pass another ordinance to go back to the original salary for the mayor until you ask us what we want. After all you are just five men that were elected to take care of the citizens of Italy. I would like to see you make this right and do what the majority of the citizens want you to do. If after you have asked us what we want, and we want the salary to stand, so be it. If not, fix the problem. Maybe we do not need to be the silent majority any longer.

Karen Mathiowetz