- The Hooper City Council debated a measure to strip Mayor Sheri Bingham of some of her powers, but it failed.
- The proposal received a favor 4-1 vote, but, per state law, it needed to pass unanimously to pass.
- Critics cited leadership issues while Bingham defended herself and pressed for specifics from her naysayers.
HOOPER, Weber County — The powers of Hooper Mayor Sheri Bingham came under scrutiny once again by the Hooper City Council on Thursday, with some on the body – dissatisfied with her leadership — pushing to strip her of some authority.
The City Council also voted on the matter in July, when a majority voted to pull back her authority and instead put it in the council's hands. But a unanimous vote was required, and the measure, though it received a favorable 4-1 vote, failed. Thursday's gathering drew a large crowd, and when Councilwoman Lisa Northrop cast the sole no vote, some in the audience applauded.
Council members Ryan Hill, Bryce Wilcox, Dale Fowers and Debra Marigoni voted for the measure.
The vote capped a lengthy discussion on the issue on Thursday, with City Council members Hill and Wilcox leading the charge to strip Bingham of power, while the mayor pushed back. The officials debated the matter during a crowded City Council meeting in February, tabling action, then took it up again on July 17, when a proposal to strip Bingham of powers received a 3-2 favorable vote, but failed due to the requirement that the measure pass unanimously.
The officials met behind closed doors after the July 17 meeting, seemingly smoothing their differences. But her City Council critics revived the issue — underscoring ongoing friction among the officials — and placed a proposal on Thursday's meeting agenda to strip her of power again. The new proposal was originally worded to strip Bingham largely of all her powers, making her the "ceremonial head" of the city, but later amended to strip her only of her authority to supervise, hire and fire city employees and handle city financial matters.
Hill cited what he sees as the inability of Bingham "to treat people with dignity and respect," noting a meme he said the mayor's adult daughter created and distributed Wednesday, the day after Election Day. It depicted Bingham as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz," and two candidates who won Hooper City Council seats Tuesday as the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. The three of them stand on a yellow brick road in the image with a caption reading, in part, "Hooper has spoken and they want these three. Quit fighting against them."
"If you hold a public office, if you are a member of a family of a person that holds public office in this community, I demand dignity and respect from all persons involved, all parties involved. To me, that was not dignity and respect," Hill said.
Bingham countered, saying her kids are adults and she can't tell what they can and can't do. The meme was originally posted privately on social media, but later copied and more widely distributed.
"I cannot dictate to my children as an adult what they can and cannot say. They don't ask me when they post things," she said. She went on: "I don't feel like I have treated any of you without dignity and respect."
Northrup, who voted against stripping Bingham of her powers, alluded to a lack of communication as an issue, saying council members frequently "feel we're in the dark about major decisions."
'Specifics or facts or documentation?'
Wilcox cited what he sees as a decline in morale among city employees and turnover, suggesting it was the result of Bingham's leadership. "We need to protect these people, and we need to make sure we create an environment where they feel they can thrive, and we need to attract new employees. We can't do that," he said, also suggesting the city hire a city manager to oversee day-to-day operations in the Weber County locale.
He also said city employees "don't need to be micromanaged," generating a rebuke from Bingham. "I don't know where you are getting the impression that I am micromanaging our employees. I'm not. I am here helping when I can be of assistance. It's not micromanaging," she said.
Bingham said she'd be open to the idea of hiring a city manager if the city could afford it. She also pressed for more specifics about problems with her leadership that would justify removing her powers.
"I do not agree with you removing any of the mayor's powers. I won't always be the mayor. There'll be another mayor, and I don't agree with this. I don't feel like you have given any concrete reasons of anything that I have done wrong that would justify you coming in, passing an ordinance to remove the mayor's powers in a six-member council form of government," she said.
She later asked if council members thought she had broken the law or acted unethically. "What do you have ... against me other than you don't perhaps like the way that I have functioned as a mayor? Do you have any specifics or facts or documentation?" she said.
Eighteen people in the audience addressed the issue during the public comment portion of the meeting, before officials debated the issue. The vast majority questioned why City Council members were pursuing the issue, particularly with three new City Council members to join the body to replace Marigoni, who was defeated in balloting that ended Tuesday, and Northrop and Wilcox, who didn't run for reelection this cycle.
When the officials have previously discussed the issue, they've only discussed the apparent issues that underlie the conflict between City Council members and Bingham in broad terms, said Jessica Smith, one of the speakers. If the City Council is going to revive the issue, she said she wants to know the "specifics" behind the push, echoing the sentiments of many.
Correction: A previous version misstated City Councilwoman Debra Marigoni's last name as Mangoni.
