Dixon city engineer resigns over credit card use

A Dixon city official has resigned in the wake of reports he used a city-issued credit card for personal expenses.

Dixon Mayor Jim Burke told The (Dixon) Telegraph received a letter Tuesday from City Engineer Shawn Ortgiesen. Burke says Ortgiesen apologized for breaking the city’s trust and included with the letter a check totaling $9,157.38.

Ortgiesen was also Dixon’s director of public works and personnel. Officials say he charged $13,521.14 in personal expenses on the card from April 2007 to last month. Of that amount, he had paid back $4,890.31.

Burke says he and the Dixon City Council feels Ortgiesen’s resignation is the best thing for the city.

Former Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell is serving a prison sentence for stealing about $53 million from the city.