On Tuesday, City Council will consider limiting mayoral spending powers over a month after Mayor Donna Deegan ordered the removal of a Springfield Confederate monument.
The legislation, introduced the week after Deegan used private funds to remove statues from the “Women of the Southland” monument, will require future mayors to obtain City Council approval before accepting monetary or in-kind donations for capital improvement projects, including those that would affect “monuments, obelisks or statues.”
The bill will head for a full vote after passing through the Rules and Finance committees last week with only two objections.
“Mayor Deegan has said she would never do this again,” Ron Salem, City Council president and bill sponsor, said Tuesday. “I’m not writing this for Mayor Deegan. I’m writing this because I believe contributions like this should come through the City Council.”
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