The Starke County Council continued discussions on code of conduct after budget discussions during their meeting Monday.
Several council members expressed they have received complaints by concerned citizens regarding code of conduct. It was noted while the council does have the ability to take action, the first amendment does protect freedom of speech. In a previous story, Starke County Attorney Justin Schramm told WKVI News there is a procedure in place to take all public complaints and hold discussions. Schramm stated it would be up to the council on what they will do moving forward.
During discussions on Monday, Council President Dave Pearman suggested the council review the code of conduct and possibly ratify it. He asked Interim Chief Deputy Auditor Sara Dingman to send a copy of the code of conduct to each council member for their review. He went on to say they can discuss what they agree with and may disagree with on the code of conduct during their next meeting to see if there is anything they would like to ratify.
Pearman went on to say aside from reviewing the code of conduct, this would be as far as the council would take the complaints received.
