Council Censures Marlon Millner in Tuesday's Meeting

At the top of a long list of business tackled at Tuesday's meeting, Norristown Municipal Council adopted a resolution to censure Councilman Marlon Millner for a host of alleged ethics violations including using obscenities and threats with other public officials, and over the recent hire of Norristown's new public works director.

The resolution was adopted in a 6-to-1 vote, with Councilman Millner dissenting.

The censure appeared to be a response to public outcry at at which more than a few residents made comments and accusations in regards to Councilman Millner's behavior while in office.

The resolution pointed out that council would not be taking Millner to court over the alleged misdeeds, but would reserve the right to do so in the future. President Linda Christian also mentioned that while council had no authority to remove Millner without his being convicted of a crime, the a majority of registered voters could call for his removal.

Councilman Millner responded to the censure by pointing out that the resolution listed allegations of misconduct as though they were fact and expressed his disappointment at the lack of due process in the matter.

"A person who's been accused of something should have an opportunity to present evidence and defend him or herself," said Millner. "That didn't happen in this case."

While disappointed in the censure, Millner expressed a hope that council can move past this unfortunate business.

"There's big work to get done in Norristown," he said, "and the people ought to be concerned about us getting that work done."