MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — The turnover at Mountain Home City Hall continues. The city's police chief is not the only official to resign due to comments made by city council members.
In the same week that Mountain Home Police Chief Jon Thompson resigned, the city's military liaison, Marty Anderson, also submitted his letter of resignation. This decision was also in response to accusations and comments made by city council members.
The situation began with a social media post alleging that Anderson was overpaid, which escalated into accusations that he was applying for grants and pocketing the funds.
Mayor Rich Sykes and outgoing Police Chief Jon Thompson assert that these claims are entirely false.
Mayor Rich Sykes stated, "There is absolutely no truth behind that."
Jon Thompson, resigning police chief, added, "That prompted four separate audits—two by the Department of Defense and two by the state. Every audit came back completely clear, showing that Marty was in the right; there were no questions about his spending or ethics."
In his resignation letter, Anderson specifically pointed to comments made by Councilmember Daniel Brennan. During a public meeting, Brennan claimed he heard that Anderson was "taking a cut" from a DCIP grant, which led to those four audits being conducted.
In his letter, Anderson expressed, "I can no longer serve the best interests of the community while constantly having to defend my character against attacks from the city council. The conduct and behavior of this council have become unprofessional and have degraded the confidence and trust placed in them."
Mayor Sykes remarked, "The hard part is that once you say something, it’s out there. The news can spin it, and social media can be quite harsh on elected officials or anyone who works in government."
Chief Thompson, who will leave office at the end of the month and has experienced similar treatment from the city council, hopes for positive change.
He said, "Any feelings I may have about the situation reflect on the council members. They do not reflect on the mayor, the citizens, or this community, nor the department I work for. The citizens have been very supportive, and I hope this sheds some light on the inner workings of city government, particularly regarding the council, so that citizens choose a different direction in the upcoming elections."
I reached out to Mountain Home Council President Daniel Brennan for a statement regarding the resignations of Thompson and Anderson, prompted by council comments.
Brennan responded via email that while he wished all sides of the story could be presented, he could not comment on the matter due to it now being a personnel issue.
Thompson concluded, "It’s very clear that the council is discussing personnel matters in an open forum, in front of another elected body that has nothing to do with city business. They’re okay with commenting in a public meeting, but they won’t comment to you about personnel matters—that’s hypocritical, absolutely hypocritical."
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