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At a special three hour meeting of North Branch City Council April 3  council discussed allegations that Council member Kelly Neider overstepped her authority, put the city in legal jeopardy and violated state law regulating data privacy. On a 3-1 vote council adopted a resolution to request Neider resign voluntarily.  Peter Schaps was the lone opposition and when given a chance leading up to the vote for him to contribute questions or concerns he only stated “no comment.”

Neider’s regular council term expires at the end of December 2024.

In the event she does not resign, she will be directed to participate in advanced ethics process instruction (ie: read materials) to enforce her understanding of the council Code of Conduct.  She will be censured, which is council expressing through an official statement it does not support her and the city will not provide her with legal help.

This review is the third time the council has been presented with complaints against Neider as an elected official.  The two prior complaints were upheld. Neider was temporarily removed from committee assignments and chastised.  

She was absent from this latest hearing, however, which was a continuation from a first hearing council opened March 19, which she also did not attend. 

According to Mayor Kevin Schieber, Neider's attorney sent a letter informing council she was skipping this proceeding April 3.

Minnesota has stiff public employee data privacy laws and disclosure of non-public information needs to be taken seriously, Mayor Schieber declared. 

He said Neider put the city in a tenuous position when a private investigator concluded it was Neider who disseminated details from a closed session.  

Mayor Schieber added that the city shouldn’t be spending money on lawyers, special meetings, notices, hiring investigators and other wasteful expenses for Neider’s actions.  The mayor said the legal fees on this matter are $14,400 and the investigator fee on the closed session data breach  was $5,572.

The basis for council concerns from the data breach investigation findings:

Neider put the message out that North Branch’s former city administrator had been “fired” by council.   The separation agreement actually defines the resignation as voluntary.  

The separation agreement requires neither the city nor the former employee will make disparaging remarks about either.  Describing the staffer as ‘fired’ is negative.  

The mayor filed the complaint linking Neider to violating rules of council conduct “to protect the city” and for the employees.  He said Neider broke closed session state law and she has damaged the city’s relationship with employees.

“She took a path she should not have taken,” Scheiber stated, adding, “where is the honor?” if council doesn’t address this.

City Attorney Nico Garcia Lisle explained council could decide the violations  have merit, and determine the penalty.

The mayor said he’d like the action to include a request for Neider to submit her resignation.  Council has no power to eject a member.

The mayor also wanted to require an apology from Neider for the potential harm caused to the former employee. 

Council member Robert Canada said “...any change is going to have to come from (Neider herself)” and he wasn’t convinced mandates can alter her personality.

Council member Travis Miles agreed residents are fed up having council time taken up addressing non-productive things and it is extremely undesirable for council to have to be pursuing this.

Council member Peter Schaps said “no comment”  when asked to contribute.    

He did state, “We all would like this to wrap up, but, then he also floated a motion to continue the complaint resolution to a council meeting in May— which died without a second.  

Schaps also claimed he was unprepared to take action, and said information sent by the mayor electronically only arrived in his email shortly before this April 3 session.  Mayor Schieber said this is untrue and he has records of city communications.

The next regular city council session is April 9.

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