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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- For the first time since taking office, Ottumwa Mayor Frank Flanders spoke with KTVO about his new position with the City of Ottumwa.

KTVO spoke with him at length about what he likes about his new job, and about some of the hurdles, he has encountered since taking office.

“I love being mayor. I love serving the people of Ottumwa as their mayor, and it has been a very enjoyable experience. I know we are on the verge of doing a lot of good things,” stated Flanders.

A recent hot topic in Ottumwa has been the proposal to upgrade the city’s website. While everyone on the city council agrees that the website needs a face-lift, some city council members believe that the money geared toward the new website could be spent on police officers and firefighters.

“We need to find a way to do both. The website is very important for economic development. It is the virtual desktop of the community,” stated Flanders.

KTVO spoke with Mayor Flanders at length about this topic.

Councilmember Jeremy Weller posted on his Facebook page that he could not support the measure, being that no one local or from the state would be allowed to bid on the project, and that it would be fiscally irresponsible.

Councilmember Weller told KTVO Thursday afternoon that the city is on a hiring freeze and that four public safety positions will be unfilled, two at the Ottumwa Police Department, and two with the Ottumwa Fire Department.

Weller said that if the city was going to spend upwards of $35,000, plus upkeep, he could not support it; being that he refuses to cut public safety positions or any positions within city departments, then turnaround and spend this amount of money on the city’s website.

The mayor doesn’t agree that the two are linked.

“I think you are creating a false dilemma (referring to KTVO) between the website and public safety. If we grow our tax base, and we need a good website for economic growth to grow the tax base, then the future of public safety is a lot more sound than if the tax base dwindles,” stated Flanders.

It should be noted that Mayor Flanders says he does support both the police and fire department 100%.

Mayor Flanders told KTVO that city is trying to get grants for the website. But as Councilmember Weller pointed out, upkeep and extra costs do go along with having residents pay for services online.