The Martin Chronicles has talked to a number of sources in the aftermath of Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin's odd reversal last week. On May 23, Martin suspended Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman without pay, charging him with intimidation and political activity. Martin added three additional taxpayer-funded attorneys to the payroll. Then the City's Civil Service Board scheduled a three-day hearing to listen to the evidence for and defense of the charges.
Martin's attorneys presented their bill of particulars explaining the charges after the deadline prescribed by the Civil Service Board. The "particulars" included hearsay provided by City Attorney Toad V. McMurtry and claims of "selective traffic enforcement" from City Clerk Craig Bohman. Interestingly, Bohman acknowledged in his statements that he wasn't always sure if it was even Assistant Chief Schutzman "selectively" enforcing traffic.
Then the process took a turn. Martin's attorneys asked the Civil Service Board to dismiss the charges against Schutzman. The Board decided to proceed with their scheduled hearing. On Thursday we learned that some agreement had been reached between the two parties to hold the hearing in abeyance pending the outcome of a lawsuit Martin will be filing against the Civil Service Board.
The purpose of Martin's lawsuit? To wrest away the power the Civil Service Board had been given in December 2010 to hear the kind of charges Martin made against Schutzman. Schutzman's attorney Jeff Otis believes that Martin wants to have what he perceives to be a more compliant City Council hear the case. Given that three of the City Council are more or less on the record saying they want to "outsource" the management of the police department, Martin is probably correct about that.
So Martin is going to be spending a great deal more taxpayer money to sue the taxpayers. Yes, that's right. Martin is USING YOUR MONEY TO SUE YOU. Tens of thousands of dollars has been spent since Martin began this process on May 23. Tens of thousands more will be spent as the process moves forward. So much for Martin's claim that he "runs a tight ship".
What happens next is anybody's guess. While this crazy mess continues to unfold several residents report seeing Kenton County police cruisers patrolling the City's streets.
