By Jesse Sweigart, The Columbia Chronicle
A Columbia resident called Tuesday for Mayor Leo Lutz to resign and urged Borough Council to end Jack Brommer’s service as borough manager immediately rather than wait for his resignation to take effect.
Robert Thompson, the first speaker of the night, said he had planned to talk about pedestrian safety but had “a more urgent issue.” He pointed to Police Chief Holly Arndt’s Oct. 13 report to council, which described an understaffed department, a lack of policies and procedures, parking revenue stored in the evidence room and a police checking account with no documented history.
Thompson said the account had been off the borough’s books since 2021, while Brommer was police chief and Lutz was mayor. He said Arndt showed good judgment by refusing to use it until it is audited.
He asked each council member to commit on the record to opposing any retaliation against Arndt, to preserve financial and employment records, and to commission an independent review of the accounts she identified.
Thompson said Brommer had missed several recent meetings. “Where is our manager?” he asked. Planning commission member Mary Wickenheiser later corrected one date he listed, saying Oct. 20 was a planning commission meeting, which the manager does not attend.
Citing the borough code, which lets council remove the manager by a majority vote of all members, Thompson asked council to act that night. He also said state law places the police department under the mayor’s direction, which he said makes Lutz responsible for the account.
“I have lost confidence in your willingness to provide leadership this borough needs,” Thompson said. “Mayor Leo Lutz, I am calling for your resignation tonight.”
Lutz did not attend. Officials said he and Arndt were on vacation. Brommer, whose resignation was announced Oct. 13 and takes effect in November, was also absent. Council took no action on Thompson’s requests.
Another resident, Kathy, praised Arndt as responsive, recalling that the chief came out right away when she and a neighbor had a problem on North Eighth Street. “If anyone has a problem with her, there’s something not right,” she said.
The Columbia Chronicle editor Jesse Sweigart also spoke during public comment, calling for an independent forensic audit and a referral of the evidence-room coins and police bank account to the Lancaster County District Attorney.
