Cypress Mayor David Burke has called a special City Council meeting for Monday, May 19, to seek details and answers to questions surrounding a separation agreement that paid a substantial settlement to a department head who accused City Manager Peter Grant of “unlawful acts of misconduct.”
The drama of the April 28 Council meeting, wherein the city’s long-time Director of Public Works Doug Dancs made the accusations, gave way to an agenda for the May 12 Council meeting that completely ignored the affair involving between $300 – $400,000 of taxpayer funds.
The issue resurfaced, however, as citizens lined up during the Council’s oral communications portion of the meeting to express outrage over the affair, while others expressed support for Grant.
Dancs, who had been missing in action without explanation for months, resurfaced at the Council’s April 28 meeting to make startling accusations before his words were literally interrupted, then halted, by a sharply worded warning from city attorney Fred Galante.
“I believe the city manager should be fired for cause,” Dancs began at the April 28 meeting, adding that he had personally witnessed “unlawful acts of misconduct.”
Before he could say more, Galante intervened to remind Dancs he had signed an agreement.
“This is inappropriate,” said Galante, warning Dancs of the confidentiality agreement he signed and suggesting there could be repercussions for anything said.
Even so, Burke offered Dancs the chance to proceed, but Dancs, after slight protestation, remained silent.
“I have a First Amendment right. I’m allowed to have opinions. I’m allowed to bring forward what I consider to be misconduct,” said Dancs before walking away from the podium.
David Loy, Legal Director of the First Amendment Coalition in Sacramento, examined the Cypress Separation Agreement and said the signed agreement between the city and Dancs should not have prevented him from speaking out.
“On its face, the (Separation) agreement doesn’t prohibit the employee from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace such as harassment, discrimination or any other conduct the employee has reason to believe is unlawful,” said Loy.
“The agreement is just not a complete non-disclosure agreement. That’s not what it says,” said Loy.
Dancs has not made any further statements since the April 28 meeting, which devolved into a political attack by Council member Scott Minikus against Burke, who signed the Separation Agreement as Mayor in October of 2024 that was so prolonged with insults that audible screams can be heard from residents to “please stop it.”
At one point, Minikus said Burke “appointed himself” as Mayor, even though Burke was elected on a 3-2 vote after the new Council was constituted. Among a litany of other things, Minikus said Burke could not carry out the “basic concepts of leadership.”
Burke reminded Minkus that the city has a civility code that prohibits such “broadside attacks,” but said, “I am not going to stop you.” At one point, Burke invited Minikus to “send me an email with everything you don’t like about me.”
Minikus also had unkind words for the local media, accusing Burke of coordinating its focus on the Dancs’ allegations. What the former mayor did not do, however, was provide any information or answers about the agreement he authorized with Dancs.
Questions remain about the agreement, including the authority to sign the document, which funds were used, the nature of the allegations against Grant, whether there were any outside contractors or other public works parties involved, and more.
Despite the barrage from those seeking to move on, Burke again demanded that Galante release the report and findings surrounding the Dancs/Grant allegation.
The law firm Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore, an L.A. firm specializing in investigations, was apparently called in to investigate Dancs’ allegations. According to the city’s warrant register, they received more than $100,000 in public funds over the past year, though exact amounts and purposes have largely been left to speculation.
“I don’t have the authority to release a report,” Galante told Burke. “The council has to make that decision,” he added, noting that anything further would be disclosing closed session information, which he obviously was not authorized to do.
“What I think I need to do is call a special meeting for the Council to consider directing the city attorney to provide us with the relevant information,” the mayor said. He suggested the City Council has a responsibility to the public that elected them to understand fully what went on with its staff.
Galante argued there was no authority for Burke to call a special meeting.
“I believe our municipal code says the Chair can call special meetings,” replied Burke to Galante.
Minikus and Council member Bonnie Peat immediately signaled they could or would not attend the proposed Monday, May 19 meeting. Burke pressed on.
Council member Leo Medrano said his top priority was the city and did not want to “see us accidentally walk into multiple lawsuits.”
Galante reminded the council about the policy of needing at least two members to put an issue on the agenda.
Council member Kyle Chang seconded Burke’s call for a special meeting, expressing support for getting the facts on the table.
“This is just a fact-finding mission,” he said. “We are new to the council, and we don’t know everything that the other council members know. I feel like we’re handicapped in that sense,” said Chang.
“I just want to get up to speed about what’s going on.”
As of Sunday morning, May 18, the city’s website did not yet reflect the posting of a meeting on Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. While regular meetings of the Council have to legally be posted 72 hours in advance, special meetings require only a 24-hour notice.
This article will be updated as soon as possible when the notice is posted.This is the link to the agenda, now posted on the City of Cypress website.
###