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Warsaw Appoints Acting Mayor

Cindy Iutzi
/
Daily Gate City

Warsaw Alderman Mike Heisler will be pulling double-duty for the next few months.

The city council voted 5-1 during a special meeting Thursday night to appoint Heisler as acting mayor.  He will serve until the April election.

Alderman Les Beeler cast the lone "no" vote.  He did not explain his vote during or after the meeting.

Former Mayor Tiffany Murphy abruptly resigned on Tuesday, less than halfway through her first term in office. She submitted a one-sentence letter to the city that did not provide a reason for her resignation.

The Warsaw City Council accepted Murphy's resignation prior to the appointment.

Heisler said when he walked into the meeting, he did not expect to be named mayor.  Because of that, he was still in shock after it occurred.

Heisler later said he will continue some of Murphy's priorities.

"We (were) working on zoning, we (were) working on clean-up (of the city)," said Heisler.  "You know, we made quite a bit of progress there and I would like to think we could continue to make progress."

City Attorney Tom Hartzell said Heisler has the ability to serve as alderman and mayor at the same time.

Heisler will retain his ability to vote on all issues as an alderman, but he will not be able to break ties on the six-member panel as mayor.

Heisler said it is too early for him to think about whether he will seek to remain as mayor in 2015.

The Warsaw City Council met behind closed doors for about ten minutes before making appointment despite there being about a half dozen residents attending the meeting.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.