Maitland mayor backtracks on charter violation confession

Two weeks after Maitland Mayor Howard Schieferdecker admitted to violating the City Charter by directing city staffers without proper approval, he was singing a different tune on Monday, taking back his confession saying he now has a “clear conscience” assuring the public he’s done nothing wrong.

Schieferdecker said he had originally “mistakenly assumed” that he unknowingly violated the Charter by directing a city-hired consultant to help him rework the format of financial figures used to assess the impact of downtown redevelopment on the city. But he said, after further review of the City Charter after his confession at the Aug. 25 Council meeting, he realized his conscience was clear because the Charter only prohibits City Council members direct influence over city staffers that fall under the jurisdiction of the city manager, which does not include consultants.

“My intentions we’re always honorable,” Schieferdecker said at the Sept. 8 Council meeting. “… My conscience is clear with this, very clear.”

Since word of the mayor’s alleged misbehavior surfaced in early August, some residents started calling for Schieferdecker’s resignation while others encouraged the Council to use the incident as a teaching moment and move on.

Resident and former Councilman Jeff Flowers asked the Council to do the right thing and focus on what he said is really important to the city of Maitland: getting the deals for downtown redevelopment done.

“This is not the issue that’s burning in the hearts of Maitland residents … We need to get the city moving forward,” Flowers said.

At the Sept. 8 meeting, Schieferdecker made no mention of plans to resign, and the City Council took no steps toward making him do so.

Resident Dale McDonald said that despite the mayor finding a “get out of jail free card” in this case by poking a loophole in the Charter language, the city still needs to work through ongoing issues with the city’s leadership and balance of power.

Councilwoman Joy Goff-Marcil offered those criticizing the mayor an alternative solution available to them six months from now.

“We have an election in about six months,” she said. “If you don't like what the mayor's doing, you can take care of it then.”

Before then, on Sept. 24, the Council will host a workshop with City Manager Jim Williams and the City Attorney Cliff Shepard to go over proper delegating procedures as defined within the Charter.