Faust: Dover residents deserve full 21CP report

I urge the full council to reconsider, in my view, a poorly taken stance and vote to release the full report.”

William G. Faust Jr. is a resident of Dover.

On Sept. 28, I attended a good portion of the meeting of Dover City Council’s Committee of the Whole in Council Chambers. The rest of the meeting I viewed from home.

When the topic came up to release the complete findings of the 21st Century Policing Solutions report, three individuals stood up in support of releasing the results. They were Mayor Robin R. Christiansen, Councilmember Brian Lewis from the 2nd District and Councilmember Gerald L. Rocha Sr. from the 1st District. I support such a bold move, while others voted not to release the report.

I feel that the full report should be released for the following reasons:

1. It shows full transparency that the city has nothing to hide.
2. The citizens of Dover paid $50,000 for this investigation and should know what their tax dollars paid for.
3. Public figures who receive a city of Dover paycheck should not be hiding from the truth. If nothing illegal or unethical was committed, there should be no issue in releasing the full report with any recommendations that the investigators shared.
4. The city should not hide behind the possibility of a lawsuit from any individual mentioned or listed in this report.

The city did not hesitate in firing city manager Dave Hugg. The citizens are already paying legal fees to refute his allegations and the legal actions Mr. Hugg is taking against Dover for wrongful termination and age discrimination.

A city cannot run in fear of the possibility of legal action against it. The city already has 10 active lawsuits it is defending against. If someone takes legal action against Dover, it does not mean he or she is automatically going to win. The city can always ask the courts to have the loser pay legal fees if it wins any lawsuit.

With all the concern about legal action against the city in this matter, does it have strong and adequate legal representation? If there is a strong legal team representing the city, there should be no fear of action being filed against it. If council is so fearful of legal action, this is something we may need to explore.

To the rest of council who voted not to release this report — like Councilmembers Dr. Roy Sudler, André Boggerty, David Anderson and Tricia Arndt — get a backbone. You had no issue over the past three years with passing on to the citizens increases in fees and taxes to balance the budget. Note: Councilmember Sudler did vote no for the last two budgets, which were approved by the rest of City Council.

I urge the full council to reconsider, in my view, a poorly taken stance and vote to release the full report. What are they afraid of and hiding from? Do the right thing and release the full report immediately.

This is submitted by a very concerned Dover citizen.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.