Need the truth

Dear Editor,

"If you always tell the truth and you don't need to remember what you said."

The citizens of McCook need the truth in the city manager mess.

At best, the players in the charade should get their stories straight.

Which way was it? At the 3/6 meeting when Councilman Kircher requested an open public meeting on Bingham, Councilman Lyons told him it was too late. the contract had already been offered and accepted. He said Councilman Kircher had plenty of time at previous (key word: previous) meetings when the matter was discussed. Previous meetings being plural means the council was considering Bingham's request to return as early as Feb. 13.

Why was it kept secret?

Eight days after the public outrage, Mayor Berry stated in an interview that contract was not offered Bingham until after it was approved at the March 6 meeting. Which way was it? Mayor Berry is saying one thing and Councilman Lyons another.

Looking at the time line, it would appear Mr. Bingham did not want to quit his new job until he was sure he had his old one back. From 1,500 miles away, he still had his ring through the City Council's nose and must have been in cahoots in the secrecy. Had Damascus discovered his plan, they would have probably canned him on the spot and if McCook didn't take him back, he ran the risk of unemployment.

In his letter of resignation to Damascus on March 6, he said one reason for his resignation was the Damascus Council's decision on a hiring freeze on Feb. 27. Feb. 27 was at least one and probably two weeks after he asked to return to McCook. It appears he found a reason to resign after he already accepted McCook's contract.

He also stated one Damascus councilman was messing in his domain. Seems to me with only two part-time and one full-time employee, Bingham would be happy to have all the help he could get. That councilman stated Bingham never offered to sit down with him one-on-one. Dick Trail told us this was one of Mr. Bingham's shortcomings.

I can attest to Mr. Bingham's disdain for the common folk. In 2004, I was building a home in McCook. It had been under construction for four months and I had nearly $60,000 in it when this phantom or ordinance was sprung on me. On Aug. 26 I wrote Mr. Bingham for clarification and asked I be put on the council's agenda. Having not heard from him in over six weeks, on Oct. 10, I wrote him again elaborating my position. He responded by letter five days later saying the ordinance was the law! If I wished to try to change the law, he could get me on the agenda on Dec. 13 and if the council changed the law, it would become effective Feb. 17, 2005!

I guess he though he could scare me by telling me (that) to pursue my findings, I would have to stop construction for four months!

To comply with an ordinance I could not find, it would have cost me $25,000. There were some other games tried by city hall; regardless I hired an attorney and about $500 later I was proven right ... they were enforcing an ordinance that did not exist!

I hate to think of the thousands of dollars those buildings in McCook spent to comply with an ordinance that did not exist.

If you love McCook as I do, you must attend the council meeting Monday, march 20. We must fill the building to the rafters. Car pool or crawl, but be there.

'Nuff said,

Bill Frasier,

McCook