Medford City Councilman John Statler made a public apology Thursday for statements he made on his Web log, commonly called a blog, that insinuated some council members meet in secret.

"I want to apologize for my lack of propriety," Statler said during a City Council meeting after Councilman Bob Strosser raised the issue.

Strosser had brought the blog to public attention in recent weeks after he said someone dropped a copy off in his mailbox in City Hall.

In the blog, written in September, Statler questioned whether the council was making decisions outside of a public forum. He also questioned whether the city manager was defying the council in not providing requested information or the city staff was lacking in competence.

The issue stems from a January meeting in which the council agreed to consider changing policy in order to have the city attorney report to the council rather than the city manager. It also agreed to consider changing the professional review process for the city manager. The council has since decided to stay with the reporting structure and the existing evaluation.

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Statler has said he's concerned about how little information was provided by city staff, and how quickly a decision was made without public discussion.

Strosser said Thursday that Statler's comments suggested impropriety on the part of the City Council and city manager and brought into question the competency of City Hall staff.

"If something is wrong then we should and will fix it," he said. "Do you have any facts?"

Statler requested an item be placed on the council agenda to talk about Oregon's public meetings laws and some issues he wanted to raise, but the council rejected the motion.

Mayor Gary Wheeler said the appropriate thing for Statler to do was bring the subject up at the end of the meeting, when time is left for remarks from council members, and he invited Statler to bring forward any concerns he had.

Strosser said he accepted Statler's apology.

"This council needs to come together," he said.

To see the text of Statler's blog, go to www.systemsolver.com/StatlerBlog and then click on "Medford Council and City Manager" in the right-hand column.

Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com.