Dexter alderman - Decisions made behind his back

DEXTER, Mo. -- A Dexter alderman has accused the mayor and city administrator of making decisions behind the backs of aldermen.

Those alleged decisions included placing the city's police chief, Ken Rinehart, and police Sgt. Sammy Stone on administrative duty at the police station after their January indictments by a Stoddard County grand jury.

Rinehart and Stone face charges of hindering the prosecution in the case of former Dexter police officer Robert Kennedy. Kennedy pleaded guilty in September to statutory rape of juveniles and deviant sexual intercourse in an incident that occurred after a traffic stop.

Alderman Tim Crutchfield read from a prepared statement during the forum portion of Monday's meeting, saying he was speaking out because it was becoming apparent some decisions were being made behind the backs of aldermen.

When the issue of Rinehart's resignation came up, "we didn't vote on it because we were asked not to," Crutchfield said. "However, the mayor then took it upon himself to ask the chief to resign without it being brought to a vote of the aldermen beforehand. This is why we voted not to accept the resignation."

He said it appeared a lot of decisions were being made by the mayor and city administrator that the board has been left in the dark about.

On Tuesday, the mayor, John Pruitt, said that all of the aldermen had been fully informed concerning the matters Crutchfield had raised.

"They have all been kept informed of decisions," Pruitt said. "In fact, some decisions were made at their instigation or were their own ideas."

Michelle Friedrich of the Daily American Republic contributed to this story.