Council members: Roll must go

In front of a standing-room-only crowd at Libby City Hall Monday night three members of the Libby City Council called for Libby Mayor Doug Roll to step down.

The three council members, led by Council President Brent Teske, opted to make their comments not as members of the council, but as City residents during the public input section of the meeting’s agenda.

“Mayor Roll has lost the trust and respect of the people, therefore making him ineffective as a leader,” Teske said. “Every issue that he is involved with and every decision made by him has been met with distrust and heavy criticism, creating contention and conflict while attempting to conduct city business.

“For Mr. Roll to remain in office will only cause continued conflict and embarrassment for Libby. Due to Mr. Roll’s extremely diminished ability to conduct the duties and responsibilities of Mayor and that we members of the City Council no longer have confidence in his ability to lead, we strongly urge him to step down. Mr. Roll, this is not only the right thing to do but the proper thing to do for the good of the City of Libby.”

Councilwoman Dejon Raines joined Teske, urging the mayor to accept the offer made by Councilman Allen Olsen at the council’s March meeting for the two embattled city officers to resign together for the good of the city. She read a letter addressed to the mayor and the council.

“I submit this letter to the Libby City Council and Mayor Roll as record of my disagreement on certain actions taken by the mayor that do not comply with the mayoral duties and responsibilities listed in the Montana Code Annotated, the Charter of the City of Libby and the Libby Council Rules of Procedures,” she said. “These actions include: appointment of the recent City Attorney without council approval, and refusal to add properly submitted (per the Libby Council Rules of Procedure) agenda items and/or resolutions to the scheduled council meetings.

“Acting outside the scope of the Montana Code Annotated, the Charter of the City of Libby and the Libby City Council Rules of Procedure puts the City of Libby at risk for legal liability,” she said. “It also has repressed the council from doing its job. These specific actions of the mayor have been brought to the attention of the mayor and the Libby City Council on multiple occasions. The mayor has refused every opportunity to comply. To not denounce these actions is to allow the City of Libby to continue to be at risk for legal liability as well as allowing myself to be individually liable for not opposing such actions. I will not stand for either.”

Councilman Brian Zimmerman said he was prompted to this course by conversations with numerous city residents.

“It is my opinion that Mayor Roll and Councilman Olsen should both step down from your elected positions so that the City of Libby may move forward,” Zimmerman said. “I hoped that the council and the mayor would be uniified towards a common goal and we would be able to finally bury the hatchet. Our current situation does not allow us to do what we have been elected to do and that is serve the city and its constituents in the best manner possible. I believe that there is too much personal animosity and past history that this is just not going to happen, or at least not soon enough.

“I have had too many conversations with all different diversities in this community and the one single belief is that nothing will change without the removal of both Mayor Roll and Councilman Olsen from office. I do not ask this without first giving it a great deal of thought and knowing what it is that I am asking for. I believe now is the time for change before it escalates any further and lives/livelihoods cannot be restored within the community. I hope and pray that you will both consider this action and make the right decision for the greater good of our community.”

The letters were met with overwhelming applause from the audience, but Roll made no acknowledgement of the requests, nor did he answer them until Libby resident D.C. Orr asked him if he intended to resign as the meeting was drawing to a close.

“Not at this time,” was Roll’s reply.