Ile-a-la-Crosse Mayor Under Public Scrutiny

Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 15:24

The longtime mayor of Ile-a-la-Crosse has been under the gun recently.

Max Morin has been forced to answer questions regarding some village money that was directed to him earlier this summer.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time — the village mayor and council elections are scheduled for next month.

Morin says he was given an $1800 loan to help cover some emergency repairs to his car when it broke down in Prince Albert in July while he was on village business.

He says the village administrator and a municipal advisor have told him that sort of transaction is above board, and has been done before in Ile-a-la-Crosse and other West Side communities.

The village administrator apparently received a loan through a similar arrangement — but it wasn’t reported to village council.

There are some in Ile-a-la-Crosse who want Morin banned from council meetings and the village office until the loan is repaid, but Morin insists he has done nothing wrong.

Morin says the loan will be repaid by the end of the month.

Village officials have been unavailable for comment.