Villa Hills city council discusses possible removal of mayor

VILLA HILLS, Ky. - The Villa Hills city council took the next step towards throwing the mayor out of office.

Four Villa Hills city council members voted to include nine charges of misconduct and/or willful neglect in a removal hearing against Mayor Mark Martin.

The mayor is accused of knowing about the destruction of city records and not disciplining the employees who destroyed the records.

Northern Kentucky residents are split on the issue.

"He wondered why the other two councilmen weren't here, because they didn't want to be part of this witch hunt.
'Cause that's exactly what this is. Seventy-five percent of people in this city back the mayor, and you'd never know it by the publicity,” said Sharon Ballman, Villa Hills resident.

"I have trouble making distinction between the illegality of some of the charges. There are folks that say 'this is not a big deal.' Look at what's happened here. Laws have been broken. If laws have been broken, the mayor needs to go,” added resident Rod Baehner.

The removal hearing is set for Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

The council will seek out the services of a retired judge to preside over the hearing.