Dear editor:
I commend John Lewis for having the courage and integrity to release the DCED report, and I agree completely with his judgment that it should never have been hidden in the first place.
Apparently public money was again squandered and so far there has been no accountability by the individuals directly involved. Too often elected and appointed officials forget that it is public dollars which fund both their occupations and the projects we entrust them to oversee, so I hope that the impending lawsuits will expose those complicit in the abuse of our public trust and hold them liable.
Meanwhile the city proposes to repay the loan with interest over twenty years at a final cost of $727,127, making a total cost of $1,227,176 to both state and local taxpayers-hardly wise and efficient governing. Perhaps people will learn from this debacle, although the timid response by new city manager Mary Ann Nau, who seems to value the rules of law even when they promote secrecy rather than the public interest, is not encouraging.
It is precisely that mindset that has undermined public trust in government from the federal level on down. In closing I would like to congratulate the Times Observer for pursuing this matter with persistence and for its high regard for the truth that a free press is so essential for.
Wes Jacobs, Warren