The Keyser City Council now is officially short one member. It may have been short one member since August 13th, or maybe even back to the last election.
On August 13th, Mayor Glen "Bunk" Shoemaker announced that council member George Chidester had submitted a written letter of resignation. This would be effective September 24th. One of the issues was the re-appointment of Jim Hannas as Supervisor of Streets and Sewers. Council member Sally Burnside has staunchly defended Hannas while Chidester has been critical. Burnside made a motion to accept the resignation of Chidester. However Marques Rice refused to second it.
One of the problems is that Chidester never took the oath of office, making him legally ineligible to have ever held a council seat. This could potentially call into question actions taken by the city while Chidester acted as a council member. This includes the designation of times for street parking around Potomac State College.
Keyser has over 5,000 residents, many of whom pay taxes. Hopefully whomever fills the vacancy left by Chidester can help strengthen the city government and its ability to meet the needs of the people. In many areas the city government provides outstanding service. However, the city council must quickly move past its own problems and get its house in order. The appearance of disorder in government will create an image detrimental to development.
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