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Brigham City mayor’s responsibilities restricted

Posted at 9:36 PM, Dec 20, 2012
and last updated 2012-12-21 00:47:50-05

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah - The Brigham City Council met on Thursday night to decide what to do with the mayor who admitted to an extramarital affair earlier this month.

In a public letter released to a local newspaper in early December, Mayor Dennis J. Fife admitted that he’d had an extramarital affair with a woman he met while serving as an LDS bishop; the affair happened after he was released as a bishop and before he became mayor.

"When I was released, one woman with whom I had been counseling continued to seek my advice...I am guilty of indiscretions that occurred during this continuation period," Fife wrote in that letter.

The City Council and Brigham City residents disagreed on what should happen to Fife; whether he should resign or remain as mayor. Since Fife has refused to resign from his position, the City Council couldn't remove him.

They unanimously decided - and Fife agreed - to ban Fife from dealing with personnel matters like hiring or firing employees and other HR concerns.

"This is fine in limiting my power," Fife said. 

Fife will serve out the remainder of his term as mayor, which lasts till Dec. 2013. He says he didn't resign because there are too many projects he'd like to complete and felt that the process of having a new mayor come in would have been disruptive.

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