Syracuse Town Manager Offers Explanation
SYRACUSE — In response to a written request from The Mail-Journal, sister publication of Ink Free News, asking exactly when Ben Plikerd was officially notified he was being removed from both the Syracuse and Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals, Syracuse Town Manager Henry DeJulia issued the following email.
“Ben was not notified of being removed from the board until after the December council meeting. It would not have been right to tell Ben we were going to remove him before the council meeting and then have council vote not to remove him. He was notified in writing.
“The letter was signed Dec. 31, 2017 and sent Jan. 2, 2018. Just so you know, Matt Sandy (assistant planner for Kosciusko County) indicated that Ben was in the Dominican Republic in early January.
“His removal from the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals was effective Jan. 9 His removal from the board of zoning appeals for the town of Syracuse was effective Jan. 17.”
Plikerd learned of his removal upon publication of the Dec. 22 edition of The Mail-Journal. He did not leave for the Dominican Republic until after the Christmas holiday and spent several days prior to leaving trying to locate DeJulia, who was on vacation, to find out what was going on.