Takoma Park mayor says independent audit of Cooper case complete; summary to be posted online

Mayor Searcy announced at the May 6 Takoma Park City Council meeting that the council has completed an independent audit related to Cooper v. City of Takoma Park and will publish a summary of the report on the city website.

"The city council took divisive steps to retain an experienced external legal firm to conduct a thorough and impartial review of our internal processes, policies, and responses to the serious allegations raised," Mayor Searcy said. She added that the council has carefully examined the audit's findings and recommendations and is committed to implementing necessary changes to improve accountability and transparency.

Searcy said the underlying audit remains confidential "to preserve attorney-client privilege and sensitive personnel information," but that a statement and link to the report summary will be made available on the city's website.

The mayor framed the audit as part of the council's effort to "create and maintain a safe and respectful working environment for all city employees," and said the council is "committed to implementing necessary changes to ensure our policies and practices meet the highest standards of accountability and transparency." The mayor did not read details from the confidential audit during the meeting.

City Manager Desperto then took the floor to continue regular staff reports. The council did not vote on the audit at the meeting; the mayor said only that the summary will be posted online and that the council will move to implement recommendations described in the report.

What happens next: the public summary will be posted on Takoma Park's website, per the mayor's statement. The council said it will pursue any implementation steps identified by the audit, but specific follow-up tasks, timelines, or staff assignments were not specified during the meeting.