Shakeup On Jansen Village Board
By FJN Staff
In the latest of a series of shakeups on the Village Board of Jansen, board member Matthew Leatherwood recently submitted his resignation. In addition, Linda Seeley, the Village’s recently hired clerk and treasurer, submitted her resignation over the weekend.
Issues of Transparency
Leatherwood has been outspoken in his criticism of the board since he was first elected in 2022. His letter to Village Chairperson Joyce Ambrose states, in part, “It continues to be clear that you and Kesha (Eldridge, the prior chairperson) are not the least bit interested in moving forward as a cohesive board. I listed several things in a letter to the board back in March that need addressed and progress continues to be stonewalled. Training for our new clerk (who I see has resigned) continues to be delayed, all while refusing my assistance.”
A primary issue Leatherwood has repeatedly cited is transparency. He told FJN he does not have access to the village hall as he has never been given a key, although city attorney Gregory Kratz told FJN that Ambrose had keys for all the board members.
Neither Kratz nor Ambrose have responded to a request for comment.
Leatherwood told FJN he has requested access to files, including agenda, minutes and treasurer’s reports. He said, “The board, as well as the general public, should have access to those items as a method of accountability as it pertains to finances and adherence to The Open Meetings Act.”
FJN has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for agendas and minutes for 2022.
Leatherwood has also expressed frustration at a lack of action by either the county attorney or the attorney general. He has contacted both regarding what he has called “obstruction” by other members of the board.
In his resignation letter, Leatherwood wrote, “It is also clear to me that, while secrecy, lack of transparency and Open Meetings Act issues abound, no one at the county or state level is the least bit interested in intervening, least of all our own village attorney. With that in mind, I’m not interested in helping fix a ship that no one cares to be fixed.”
FJN reached out to County Attorney Joseph Casson. No response was received as of press time.
FJN asked Leatherwood for specific examples of Open Meetings Act violations. He said, “One example would be the sidewalk they put in north of village hall. That was decided under ‘other business’ and was not an agenda item.”
Leatherwood added, “Minutes not being available for public review after 10 days is a violation. Minutes not posted in the paper within 30 days is a violation.”
Clerk and Treasurer
The village board has struggled to find a permanent clerk and treasurer since Regina Russell was first relieved of her duties in 2022. Christina Koenig was hired at meeting of the village board on December 14, 2022, but resigned after just seven weeks on the job.
FJN obtained a letter written Koenig after her resignation was originally reported. In it, Seeley wrote, “There has been some questions as to why I have choosen (sic) to leave the employment of the village of Jansen. Here is some clarification. I did not leave because of Kesha, she is the only reason I even considered returning. I left because there is a small portion of the village residents that have created a toxic atmosphere within the village. The other, more important reason, is that I will not help Gordon Hopkins (FJN news editor), through the use of the Freedom of Information Act, in what I consider to be the targeting and harassment of the village of Jansen and Kesha Eldridge. I find this behavior distasteful and choose not to participate.”
According to the website of the Nebraska Attorney General, “The Nebraska Public Records Statutes provide citizens of this state and all other interested persons the right to obtain access to, and copies of, public records in the custody of public agencies in the state.”
Those public records requested by FJN at the time were provided by the village after Koenig left.
Linda Seeley, was hired as clerk and treasurer on March 13 of this year.
Seeley gave two-weeks notice in a letter dated April 28, 2023. She echoed some of the complaints of Koenig’s earlier letter, “I cannot take adults behaving like children at the meetings. The disrespectful yelling and interrupting of the meeting is uncalled for. In my opinion, the disrespect of one board member at the end of the meeting was not appropriate.”
Seeley complained that, “I have, received several text messages on my personal phone from a board member, the last one being on a weekend when I wasn’t working about a non-emergent matter. I responded it was my personal phone, and it is a weekend, please use village email to correspond with me. This way I can take care of it during working hours when I have access to Village information.”
Seeley also objected to recent news coverage by FJN.
FJN has written a number of stories about the Jansen Village Board over the past year.
