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Council schedules May 27 vote to fill vacancy; members raise appearance-of-conflict concern over Jacob Niebrugge
Summary
The Effingham City Council scheduled a special meeting May 27 to vote on appointing Jacob Niebrugge to a vacant council seat. One member raised concerns about a potential appearance of conflict because Niebrugge’s father-in-law is negotiating a $2 million TIF agreement with the city; supporters said Niebrugge would recuse if needed.
The Effingham City Council set a special meeting for 5 p.m. May 27 to consider appointing Jacob Niebrugge to a vacant city council seat, and members aired both support and concern during a lengthy discussion.
Council members said a majority of the panel favored Niebrugge as the leading candidate after executive-session deliberations, and they scheduled the special meeting to complete the formal appointment within the statutory timeline. The council did not vote at Monday’s meeting; the decision is set for the special session.
During the discussion a council member raised a concern about an appearance of conflict of interest, noting that Niebrugge’s father-in-law is negotiating a $2,000,000 tax-increment financing (TIF) agreement with the city. Other members responded that they believed Niebrugge is qualified and said he should recuse himself from any matter that directly presents a conflict. Council members emphasized they had received broad community input on the candidates.
The council chair confirmed logistics for the special meeting and said the formal vote would be taken at that session. No formal ethics finding or final appointment was made at the May meeting.
What’s next: the council will reconvene May 27 to take the formal appointment vote; if appointed, the appointee will fill the vacancy pending any required recusal for matters involving relatives’ business interests.
