“I am still the mayor, just so everybody knows,” David Wilcox proclaimed amid the Tioga Borough council meeting earlier this week.

Whether he was still the mayor at the start of the meeting, and whether he would remain the mayor at the end, were the main points of contention.

The controversy stemmed from Wilcox’s alleged failure to submit notarized proof of borough residency following his appointment to the position in last November’s municipal elections.

Wilcox served as the interim mayor prior to the polling.

According to Wilcox, that document had not been required before, and members of council themselves had not provided said document.

The lack of that document, according to some on council, meant that Wilcox was, in fact, not the mayor, and that borough council now has the power to appoint a new mayor. Appointing a mayor, as well as a new member of borough council following the resignation of Bob Wertz, was on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

There would be no new mayor, however, as more than half a dozen residents spoke in favor of Wilcox during public comment. None spoke against him.

Once the topic was raised in public comment, Wilcox took the opportunity to read aloud a letter prepared by attorneys J. David Smith and Christopher H. Kenyon of McCormick Law Firm in Williamsport.

The letter insisted that the council had no power to remove or disqualify Wilcox from his position.

It read, in part:

“Plainly, Borough Council has no right to remove Mayor Wilcox through its own pronouncement. Under Section 904.1 of The Borough Code the methods for removing an elected borough officer are (1) by impeachment; (2) by the Governor for reasonable cause after notice and full hearing on the advice of two-thirds of the Senate; or (3) on conviction of misbehavior in office or of an infamous crime, none of which has occurred here. If a removal of office is sought through quo warranto on the basis of the Mayor’s supposed non-residency, that action would have to be initiated in Tioga County’s Court of Common Pleas by the District Attorney. Any of these methodologies requires a hearing which Mayor Wilcox has never received nor has there been any due process by which he was supposedly removed. Instead, he was unceremoniously — and illegally — told he was no longer mayor and that the Borough Council was looking to appoint someone in his place.”

It went on to say that Wilcox is known to be a longtime borough resident, and submitted a signed copy of the affidavit Jan. 13 to the borough secretary, though it was not a notarized copy — something Wilcox says he did not know was required.

It concluded by vowing legal action if Wilcox was not affirmed as mayor.

Shortly after reading the letter, the meeting went into executive session for nearly 30 minutes. Upon conclusion of that executive session, Wilcox proclaimed he was still the mayor.

A new member of borough council needed to be appointed, but this was far from a peaceful proceeding as well. Brennan Wood, who served on council last year after being appointed to fill a vacancy, had volunteered his services to council, with the support of many in attendance. Ultimately, his candidacy was brought to a contentious vote, with council members Bill Preston and Alan Brooks voting in favor, and members Steve Hazlett, Marybess Hazlett, Doreen Burnside and Bob Wheeler voting against.

Burnside then nominated local business owner Holly Irwin through complaints from onlookers about the motion to install Wood failing. The motion to appoint Irwin to council passed, with Steve Hazlett, Marybess Hazlett, Doreen Burnside and Bob Wheeler voting in favor and Bill Preston and Alan Brooks voting against.

Controversy within Tioga Borough Council has been ongoing for nearly a year now, after Wilcox alleged improprieties with borough funds regarding a borough employee. According to Wilcox, such matters have been referred to the Tioga County District Attorney Krista Deats.