BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg citizens hoping to remove four elected officials from council have reportedly raised nearly $15,000 to hire an attorney, but further details regarding their progress have not been shared publicly.

A group of Ogdensburg citizens is working to remove three city councilors and the mayor after an arbitrator ruled that they violated a section of the city charter that requires forfeiture of their seats.

The ruling came out of an arbitration incident between the city and the Ogdensburg Police Benevolence Union. The arbitrator said in his opinion that the city and mayor had violated the charter when they instructed former City Manager Sarah Purdy to layoff four members of the police department.

The charter specifically disallows such action and the penalty for violating is forfeiture of the seat.

While the charter is clear, Deputy Mayor John Rishe defended the councilors at a recent city council meeting saying that he does not believe the charter was violated despite the opinion from James Gross.

To date, the group has raised nearly $15,000, according Cyndi Layng who is one of the organizers of the effort.

This is not the first time citizens have threatened legal action against the city council over the past year, though this time the public call does seem louder.

All four of the council members under fire by the citizens groups -- Mayor Jeffrey Skelly, Rishe, and councilors Steven Fisher and Bill Dillabough -- were elected in November 2019 though write-in votes. Since taking office the group has faced major resistance as they continue to cut the budget and number of employees at the city.

The council was able to reduce taxes by roughly 10 percent, but in doing so they reduced seven positions from the fire department, eliminated the comptroller position, dissolved the recreation department and shifted staffing in various departments.

The city council has been busy in its efforts to bring Ogdensburg’s finances in order.

They are currently heading toward arbitration with the fire union over contract violations related to minimum staffing and other issues. They have also been involved in public disputes with St. Lawrence County regarding sales tax.

While the council has been laser-focused on reducing costs, many citizens and former councilors have been vocal at nearly every meeting condemning their methods.

The arbitration decision sparked a protest Feb. 8 in which citizens called on the majority of council members to resign, but the group has been quiet since the last meeting.

At that same meeting, councilors Dan Skamperle and Michael Powers called on their fellow councilors to step down. Councilor Nichole Kennedy tried to get a resolution calling for the same on the agenda, but it was rejected by the city manager following discussion with the city attorney.

City Manager Stephen Jellie said the city attorney has issued an opinion to council regarding the arbitration decision and the city charter’s forfeiture requirement, but that opinion has not been shared with North Country This Week.

Jellie has said publicly that he does not believe the councilors or mayor should step down. He says the action was taken by the council and not individual members of the council and therefore individual members should not be held responsible.

The minority council members, who voted against the resolution referenced in the arbitration ruling disagree.