T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Bellaire Mayor Robert Dodrill holds a press conference announcing that he is recanting his resignation.

BELLAIRE — Bellaire Mayor Robert Dodrill reversed course Monday, announcing he will stay in office and complete his term after initially resigning amid internal conflict and the departure of the village’s fiscal officer.

“I don’t plan on leaving again. I plan on doing my full term,” Mayor Robert Dodrill said at a press conference he held to announce his retraction of his resignation.

Dodrill previously resigned after the village’s fiscal officer, Ginny Favede, resigned during the village council’s meeting on Thursday evening.

On Monday afternoon, Dodrill held a press conference to announce he will be recanting his resignation.

He said that since announcing his resignation, he has received a plethora of support telling him that he should not resign.

Dodrill resigned after only three months in office. He said that the reason he quit was due to constantly being undermined throughout his time as mayor.

He said that he decided to stay due to the overwhelming support he’s received and doesn’t want to let the community down by leaving when things get tough.

Now that he plans to stay, he said that he and council need to work together to put the village first.

“My responsibility as mayor is to work for the people and same with them. Council should be working for the people. I don’t have any personal vendettas. I don’t have any personal issues. I leave them outside of work, and they should too,” Dodrill said. “There’s an awful lot of things that I’ve found that they don’t like, and that’s fine.”

Dodrill is referring to alleged findings for recovery that have been issued by the State Auditor’s Office from things that happened previously in a previous administration.

“The 2022 audit is going to be moving to look into the water department and police department funds, and the mayor’s court fund was not able to be audited. It’s a total mess,” Dodrill said. “All I’m saying is that there were an awful lot of findings, and I’m staying on board to represent the people and bring it all out.”

He added that he believes when people have their own personal issues and agendas brought to council, it doesn’t help the village’s residents.

“I don’t appreciate it, you know, I didn’t do this for the money. I did it because I love Bellaire. I’m red and black through and through, and also green and white because I went to St. John’s in kindergarten and first grade,” he said. “This is definitely my village, and this is where my heart lies.”

Dodrill said that the village mayor is technically a part-time job, but he believes he is a full-time mayor.

“I was upset because my fiscal officer resigned. We were doing a great job everybody knows that we were both trying,” Dodrill said. “But I didn’t want to let the people down, and that’s why I’m not I’m not leaving anytime soon. I want to finish my term. I’m not going anywhere unless I get forced out.”

Dodrill said that since deciding not to resign, he has already begun the search for a new fiscal officer.

“I’ve already been calling around trying to find somebody else to come in. I have a couple people that are interested in the position. I’m definitely going to fill it and get somebody in there so that progress keeps going,” Dodrill said. “When I came in in the beginning, we had a lot of issues. Then I had to hit the ground running and tried to put the right team around me in order to do it. And within the first two weeks, we got everything up and running. But it’s just like a sports team, you have to have the right people around you and the right people in place in order to win a World Series or a championship.”

He added that this conflict has made him more passionate about getting the village back on what he considers the correct path.

“I want to make the town the ‘All American Town’ that it’s supposed to be. I grew up here, I want my kids to grow up here,” Dodrill said. “We need the infrastructure and it’s kind of starting from the ground and working its way up. But when everybody’s fighting about little piddly things here and there, they’re not seeing the big picture and working on the right stuff, it’s not going to get done. I plan on trying to get that done.”

An attempt was made to reach each of the village’s council members but they were not able to be reached for comment, besides council member Elizabeth Dugmore, who said that she did not have a comment at this time but may in the near future.