A Maumee councilman railed against a recall effort targeting him, five other councilmen, and the mayor.
“I wasn’t going to say anything about the recall, but I will,” Councilman Ted Kurt said during the council comments part of the meeting Monday. “You want to recall us because we’re doing our job in a way that’s unpopular.
“But the real reason everybody knows ... [you] want to recall the members of council so [you] can put people in there who have the political will and courage to fire Dr. Burtch,” he said, referring to Patrick Burtch, the city administrator. “We’re all getting wrapped up in that — you don’t like Dr. Burtch.
“But I’m going to say right here, Dr. Burtch, I am very pleased with what you did and the expertise you bring,” Mr. Kurt said. “You don’t control us, and you never have tried.”
There was an exchange with someone in the back of the council chamber that ended with Mr. Kurt telling the man forcefully to “shut up” and “meet me outside.”
Mr. Kurt apologized after the mayor asked him to bring the temperature down.
“I should not have said ‘shut up,’ but I do have the floor,” Mr. Kurt said.
Maumee voters will decide Sept. 9 on whether to recall Mayor James MacDonald and Councilmen Gabriel Barrow, Jonathan Fiscus, Joshua Harris, Scott Noonan, Margo Puffenberger, and Mr. Kurt. Councilman Philip Leinbach is not being recalled.
Two citizens who are driving the recall initiative said Mr. Kurt was unprofessional. They also said Mr. Burtch is part of the reason for the recall but not all of it.
“The idea that the recall is only about firing Burtch is patently false,” Dana Johnson said Tuesday. “Many people in Maumee have wanted to see Pat Burtch replaced for quite some time, and there are many valid reasons for this.”
People would be satisfied with councilmen who would do a better job of keeping him in check and not just support him in power grabs and harmful policies and procedures, Mr. Johnson said.
“I am not in a position to terminate him, but if I were, I would have to look at all the facts before me, to determine the best course or action for all the citizens of Maumee. I believe that the city can do far better in several areas than what has been done over the last few years,” he said.
Amy Pauken said her goal as a recall committee member is to get people on council who actually work for the people.
“The council we have now rubber-stamps everything and does everything by emergency. They don’t hold town halls for citizen input and they don’t do what is best for citizens,” she said. “The mayor and city council are elected to serve the citizens, and they are not doing that.”
Ms. Pauken cited the 2025 budget as an example, saying there was no need to pass that as an emergency. The budget should have had three readings and should have allowed for citizen input, she said. She said six out of the seven councilmen “rubber-stamped it and pushed it through.”
A citizen has filed a public-records request to see the full budget, and it has not been released, Ms. Pauken said.
“And as far as Ted Kurt’s behaviors, it was unprofessional and, in my opinion, threatening —unacceptable behavior coming from an elected official,” she said.
Mr. Burtch has been given too much unchecked power, Ms. Pauken said.
“I feel a council that can think for themselves and doesn’t buy into this ‘Strong Towns’ theory is what this city needs. This can be done no matter if Burtch is there or not,” she said. “But do I wish Burtch would leave? Absolutely. I feel he is not what is best for this city.”
The recall effort emerged after council passed an ordinance requiring a sewer inspection in homes before they were sold. After citizen uproar and the start of a referendum petition, the ordinance was withdrawn.
In November, a rental property registration and inspection ordinance proposed by the city was rejected by 3-1 margin at the polls.
First Published April 8, 2025, 5:09 p.m.
