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Residents press Milford council for transparency after vendor (Management Essentials) did not appear at May meeting; heated public comments follow
Summary
Multiple residents and the vendor John Lucas criticized the city for silence after a controversial decision to exclude Management Essentials from a May meeting. Residents asked why the city did not issue an earlier statement and said omission damaged public trust; several council members and the city manager apologized for communication failures and cited sunshine-law constraints on issuing statements outside public meetings.
A sustained public-comment segment at Milford City Council’s June 2 meeting centered on transparency and a disputed absence of a vendor, Management Essentials, from a prior council meeting.
Resident Rachel Richardson said the city’s silence after the vendor publicly stated he had been instructed not to attend left residents ‘to speculate for nearly two weeks.’ She urged council to explain why a statement was not requested earlier and said the episode reinforced a perception of limited transparency.
John Lucas, the vendor, told council his name had been ‘dragged through the mud’ and disputed claims that multiple council members had asked staff to tell him not to attend; he said he has documentation of conversations and asked the city to revise its statement. Several council members, including one who identified himself as having weighed in on whether Lucas should attend, apologized for not speaking up sooner. City manager Benjamin Gunderson said he regretted not clarifying the record earlier and apologized for the handling.
Council and staff repeatedly noted constraints under open-meeting (sunshine) laws: the law director explained council cannot issue a formal statement without a public meeting and four votes to authorize it, and that a special meeting would have been required to produce an official council position sooner. Residents countered that council could have asked city staff to issue an explanatory statement or convened a special meeting.
Why it matters: residents and vendors said the lack of timely city communication led to reputational harm and distrust; council members acknowledged the problem and some apologized, but the dispute highlighted differences over where responsibility for outreach and explanation lies.
What’s next: council discussed that any formal council statement would require a public meeting; residents urged more proactive communication practices and clarity on procurement and vendor-engagement procedures.
