Dover mayor returns as special prosecutors named
DOVER – The mayor of a small eastern Ohio city who stopped coming to work and council meetings for months has returned to find himself at the center of a state investigation and new demands to fire the superintendent of the municipal power plant.
Three attorneys from the Ohio Auditor’s Office have been appointed as special prosecutors for any matters related to a state investigation of eight-term Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen, 73.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos made the appointment of attorneys Robert Smith, Samuel Kirk and Thomas Anger for any matters related to an
investigation of Homrighausen by the Ohio Auditor’s Office or the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Dover City Council previously commissioned its own investigation into the mayor’s physical and mental well-being and how he handled his duties, including his role in the city hiring one of his sons.
Dover is a city of nearly 13,000 people about 45 miles south of Akron in Tuscarawas County.
Homrighausen had not attended council meetings since before he broke his hip in February. He eventually began using Zoom to give his mayoral reports until the council required in-person briefings. The mayor returned in July to be peppered with questions from council members who have called upon him to resign, citing a declining faith in his ability to lead the city.
Members are now demanding that Homrighausen fire power-plant Superintendent Dave Filippi, who approved the expenditure of $350,000 to fix generators without council authorization. Filippi has accepted a new job in West Virginia but remains on the payroll to use accrued vacation time.
Homrighausen has not fired Filippi, telling council recently, “I’m going to have to think on that.”
What is being investigated in Dover?
The council’s May investigation report described a chief executive who had become detached from city business, used his influence to have his son hired for a city job and expected employees to solicit donations for his reelection campaigns.
Homrighausen could not be reached for comment. He was reelected in 2019 for a term ending in December 2023.
City Council President Shane Gunnoe welcomed the special prosecutors’ appointments.
“Under Ohio law, I can’t really make any additional comments in the matter, with the exception to say I’m grateful for the due diligence the state authorities are putting into the matter,” Gunnoe said. “I encourage the employees of the city of Dover to cooperate fully with the investigation.”
The council’s investigation, conducted by attorneys from the Ulmer & Berne law firm, found eight specific areas of concern with Homrighausen, including neglect of responsibilities; delegation of authority to non-city personnel; impeding the city council’s legislative investigation; failure to enforce the drug-free workplace policy; potential nepotism; potential improper compensation; failure to disclose compensation to the ethics commission; and solicitation calls by city employees for a mayoral campaign fundraising event.
The summary notes that Homrighausen was unavailable during much of the
COVID-19 pandemic, forcing unelected city employees to take up duties related to city policy during the crisis.
According to the summary, the mayor provided almost no input on the 2021 city budget, routinely missed labor negotiations with the city’s police union and failed to provide proposed salary scales of non-bargaining personnel.
The report further alleges that Homrighausen “improperly delegated managing and responding to emails to noncity employees,” including a son, Nick, and his wife, Linda. The report says the mayor has officially identified his wife as his “designee” to city employees and empowered her to access a public building and public records without supervision.
The report also claims that the mayor’s son, Peter, was involved in a minor accident two years ago while working for the general services department. He was never drug-tested, though he allegedly told his supervisors that he did not believe he could pass a drug test. The incident was reported to the mayor by one of his son’s supervisors, but the mayor took no action.
“This is a direct violation of the city’s Drug Free Workplace Policy section II.B.4 by Failing to Act when information is provided by a reliable source,” the report said.
Dover power plant troubles
The council’s complaints now include questions about $350,000 in cost overruns for repairs at the light plant last year.
One of the cost overruns was for $199,350 to Sulzer Turbo in Houston, which the city hired to inspect the plant’s steam turbine, which was built in 1967. The turbine was shipped to Texas, where the company found significant issues.
“The work was authorized by (Superintendent) Dave Filippi signing a letter to provide services without having the authority to enter into an agreement of such and allowed work to continue without adequate funds being encumbered to do the project,” Auditor Nicole Stoldt said.
She said that was a violation of Ohio law.
Gunnoe also questions two other projects, including paying an Illinois company to test and inspect a 7.5-megawatt turbine that has not been used at the light plant since 1998. It was done without the council’s authorization or consent.
Assistant Superintendent Jason Hall told the council that the turbine had been in Illinois for several years. He did not know how much had been spent on the work, but the city has been paying one or two purchase orders a year for $20,000 or $25,000.
Gunnoe said he had seen all the purchase orders since 2018 and they amounted to roughly $100,000.
Homrighausen said that Hall is in charge. Hall added that Filippi had told him he would be on vacation until the end of the year.
nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com