I’m a Northwood resident and have lived in Worth County all of my life. Over the last six months, I’ve been an active proponent of raising “backyard chickens” within the Northwood city limits.

I began attending Northwood City Council meetings to voice my opinion for backyard chickens, but soon realized there are more important issues at hand regarding the council.

The Northwood City Council has tried to discourage me from voicing my opinion during its meetings. But, recently, I was bullied and harassed by members of my own city council. Our society will not tolerate bullies in our school systems. We do not tolerate bullies in the workplace, and I will not tolerate bullies in my city government.

Recently, two City Council members accused me of raising chickens within the Northwood city limits. For the record, I have never owned chickens and never raised any chickens on my property.

On May 6, one Northwood City Council member filed a complaint with the Worth County Sheriff’s Office around 7:30 p.m. A sheriff’s deputy came to my house to investigate the scene of the alleged crime. At the time I was away from home.

No one from the city ever provided my wife or me the courtesy of a phone call prior to this intrusion into our lives. My infant son had been sleeping and was awoken by the knock at the door; also the surprise visit by the deputy came as a shock to my wife.

The problem with this situation is that city policy was not followed. The Northwood City Council knows that any citizen, including a City Council member, must file a complaint at Northwood City Hall during normal business hours. Yet a member of my city council called the Sheriff’s Office that evening and asked for a deputy to go over to my house.

This particular City Council member even told the Worth County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher that I am “very belligerent” and “very nasty” when I attend City Council meetings. Although I have been discouraged from voicing my opinion at these meetings, I have always been polite and courteous when addressing the council.

At the regular June 9 City Council meeting, a friend of mine had attempted to play recordings, regarding the complaint, made by the councilman. They were to be played during public comments for the council to hear, but he was denied the right to do so. The council claimed it needed legal counsel to be present before it could hear the recordings. This is troubling to me, since the recordings are public record.

I am not making any accusations. I have all the evidence I need to prove this happened from the voice recordings of the complaint to the dispatcher.

We have yet to receive a public apology from anybody responsible for this, although there have been ample opportunities for doing so.

I ask my fellow citizens; will you tolerate bullies in city government?

 

Tim Stumo

Northwood, Iowa