Boynton city hall allegations should be investigated

EDITORIAL

ENDORSEMENTS

There’s a lot to unpack right now in Boynton Beach City Hall. The upshot is that back-and-forth allegations of misconduct between city officials and Tennille DeCoste, the former human resources director who is also a city commission candidate in Delray Beach, where she lives.

Months of accusations, from improper use of city time and resources to racism and workplace retaliation, have tattered the reputations of DeCoste and the city government of Boynton Beach. So, while voters in one city question their leadership, voters in another are left to wonder about the integrity of a major candidate. Since November, DeCoste, City Manager Dan Dugger, Deputy City Manger Andrew Mack and City Attorney Shawna Lamb have traded accusations, after Duggan and Lamb told DeCoste that she was under investigation for receiving campaign donations from city employees.

“I felt compelled to act and arranged for an independent, unbiased investigation by an investigator who is unaffiliated with the city to either confirm the allegations or exonerate the director,” Dugger said in December, after receiving complaints about DeCoste. DeCoste fired back, initially disputing the campaign allegation and emailing the mayor that she believed the probe to be tainted and the outcome predetermined. She also listed her own claims of misconduct involving race, favoritism and workplace retaliation by Dugger and other city officials, allegations they have denied.

“I do love the city of Boynton Beach,” DeCoste told the Post. “I’m not a disgruntled employee. It’s just I want to get treated equally, like everybody else is.”

The city commission opted to send the case to the Palm Beach County Office of Inspector General to evaluate whether any wrongdoing was committed. But at the same time, at the administrative level, the three-month probe by the outside investigator, launched by the city manager and attorney, found DeCoste used city resources and time to conduct her campaign. Last week the city fired her.

The city probe, unfortunately, still carries a hint of bias favoring the city. Fortunately, Dugger and the city commission have now asked the one agency whose findings wouldn’t be so easily criticized for partiality — the inspector general to take a look. The inspector general can clear the air for all. The sooner, the better.