Geneva 2nd Ward alderman resigns due to move

Geneva 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Piper is stepping down at the end of the year because he no longer lives in the ward.

Piper submitted his resignation Monday. He moved in May, when he filed for divorce. Piper then rented a place in the 1st Ward.

“I have had every intention of moving back into the 2nd Ward. That has not happened for me,” Piper said.

Piper, unopposed in the 2011 election, has been a 2nd Ward alderman since an appointment in December 2006. He was a 3rd Ward alderman from 2000 to July 2004.

He is known for some colorful, if slightly profane, ways of criticizing how the council conducts business, including its sometimes spending lots of time on items that have little financial impact.

“It’s been a slice,” he told the council Monday night.

It will be up to Mayor Kevin Burns to appoint someone to fill the vacancy. That person would serve until the spring 2013 municipal election. The remainder of the term would then be up for election.