A Springfield city council member is being investigated for not being qualified to serve when she took the oath of office last spring.
During a news conference this afternoon in council chambers, Springfield Mayor Bob Stephens said he received a letter this morning signed by five city council members—Ken McClure, Jan Fisk, Craig Fishel, Phyllis Ferguson and Mike Schilling—questioning whether Kristi Fulnecky was in violation of the city’s charter when she took office due to unpaid fees.
According to Stephens, section 19.15 of the city charter states that no person shall be entitled to hold any office or employment who is in arrear of any city taxes.
"Ms. Fulnecky has been running a business in the city without applying for and paying the fee for a business license. Only after repeated contact from our licensing department and a conversation I personally had with her following the October 12 city council meeting did she acknowledge that her company had been in business for seven years and then she paid the appropriate fees for the past three years," he said.
According to Stephens, the city made contact with Fulnecky about the business license in late August. The completed license application and payment of three years of back taxes were received October 28th.
The letter requests the appointment of an independent hearing examiner to look into whether Fulnecky was qualified to take the oath of office in April since fees were still unpaid.
Fulnecky was not available for comment.
