Mike Skrbich, the clerk and treasurer for Gilbert, was made subject of an internal investigation by the city council Tuesday.

Gilbert Mayor Karl Oberstar, in summarizing the motion, described it as an “investigation of some sort,” but councilors did not specify the reasoning leading up to it.

The investigation was unanimously approved, and will be led by Councilors Paul Skrbec and Bob Pontinen, and city attorney Bryan Lyndsay, who was not present at the meeting.

Skrbec and Lyndsay did not return Iron Range Today’s requests for clarification on the reasoning for an inquiry. An email to Skribich was also not returned.

“We’ve heard and witnessed a lot of things during our negotiation sessions,” Skrbec said. He raised the issue and motion during the councilor reports section of the meeting. “I think we need to gather questions in terms of testimony, witnesses, with respect to our current city clerk, so we can act as a city to determine what our next steps could be and what we need to do.”

Skrbec said he discussed the matter with the city attorney, and interviews would be conducted with Lyndsay present, according to his schedule and timeline.

Skribich subtly shook his head as the motion was laid out, but remained silent during the discussion and vote.

Discussion of the investigation followed a tense back and forth between the clerk and Councilor Rudy Vertachnik about what type of access the city’s deputy clerk has to information. Vertachnik also questioned the status of the city’s audit.

“The audit has been over 18 months and we still don’t have it,” the councilor said. “The more eyes we can get on everything we have, to me, is a better solution.”

Skribich said the city has answered “about 90 percent” of questions from the audit. Gilbert’s website lists 2022 as the city’s last financial oversight.

“I’m certainly worried about it, but this was all preexisting to my presence here,” he said. “It’s been going well and I think I’ve given you updates on a regular basis. If you need anymore updates, stop in.”

Skribich added that an agenda item scheduled for later in the meeting would allow him to green light more access for the deputy clerk. In the interim, he told the council, he’s provided logins and information when necessary.

Other items, like access to banking, required council approval before moving ahead.

“That’s how it should be and I don’t think Mike is holding that back,” Oberstar said.

The council ultimately approved a separate motion to ensure equal access to information by the deputy clerk. Oberstar said he had no issue with doubling up on council approval for it, noting the current chain of command.

Skrbec took the view that the both positions report directly to the city council, citing ongoing talks about the city’s organizational chart.

“I have, from the very beginning, been advocate of one of the reasons why we hired for this position is that it is a role that is in cooperation with, and not reporting to another role,” he said. “For that reason, we need to have a duplicate, exact access to everything.”

The city clerk position in Gilbert has been a particularly thorny issue in recent years. Former clerk, Jill Zallar, faced ethics allegations by AFSCME union members in October 2023. She resigned in 2024, citing a continued poor relationship with the union.

Skribich was hired in April 2024 after previously serving as the city administrator in Aitkin.

Accessing the Gilbert City Council

• Gilbert City Council meeting recordings are typically posted within 48 hours through Mesabi Community TV. Archived meeting videos can be found through MCTV’s YouTube channel. Meeting agendas and minutes are available through the city website.