Ohio Mayor Violates Policy He Helped Write
Jun 17, 6:48 AM (ET)
NEWARK, Ohio (AP) - The mayor of this central Ohio city caught someone violating a city employee policy - himself.
Mayor Bruce Bain paid a $368 fine for sending an e-mail that promoted his son's part-time beverage business to city workers. He wrote to 15 city employees, recommending they become involved in selling a health drink.
"I violated the computer use policy I helped write," Bain said at a news conference Thursday. "You have to use the computer only for city business. How can I say to a city employee, 'Don't do that,' if I do it?"
Bain said he realized the mistake on his own and calculated the fine of two days' pay based on his annual salary of roughly $66,000.
He said he is not involved in the business and only wanted to help his son and city workers make extra money.
Bain has asked the city's law director to investigate his e-mail.
"I'm a very honest person, so I talked with the law director's office immediately," Bain wrote in a second e-mail explaining his error to city workers.
Newark is about 40 miles east of Columbus.