A government official in Flint, Mich. has resigned from his post after he was recorded using a racial slur to blame African-Americans for the city’s water crisis.
“Flint has the same problems as Detroit: f—ing ni—– don’t pay their bills. Believe me, I deal with them,” Phil Stair said in the recording, which was posted online by Truth Against The Machine.
Stair, who is white, was sales manager of the Genesee County Land Bank, a government organization that manages tax-foreclosed properties, MLive.com reported.
The recording was made by Chelsea Lyons, an environmental activist and journalist for the website who has raised concerns about the Land Bank.
“I am deeply troubled by,” Michele Wildman, executive director of the Land Bank, said Monday, according to MLive.com. “The citizens of Flint deserve to have trust in their public officials.”
Residents of Flint are still dealing with a contaminated water supply, more than a year after the city’s lead-poisoned water made national headlines.
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Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com