Why Should Delaware Care?
From unrest over the leadership of its police chief to intense division over a proposed panhandling ordinance, the city of Dover has seen its fair share of controversy in recent months. Adding to this series of events is the city council’s decision to discreetly place a top city employee on administrative leave.
The city of Dover quietly put its top administrative employee on leave earlier this month — the first step toward permanently removing him from the position.
Dover City Council unanimously voted to place City Manager Dave Hugg on a paid leave beginning March 2, Spotlight Delaware has learned through conversations with multiple city officials. According to the city’s charter, that leave is a first move toward officially firing him.
City officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said long-simmering tensions between Hugg and city council members recently boiled over. Elected leaders, they said, grew tired of Hugg not promptly informing them about relevant issues, often leaving council members “blindsided” when matters were brought to their attention months later.
Two officials pointed to a recent controversy surrounding city council members’ decision not to allocate money to the People’s Church homeless shelter as illustrative of the broader issue. The officials said Hugg failed to inform council members for months about a series of complaint letters the city had received about the shelter, as well as a threat of legal action from a neighboring resident.
When asked about Hugg’s absence, a city spokesperson confirmed he was on leave but would not say why, citing the matter as a “personnel issue.”
According to Dover’s city charter, a city manager must be given a public hearing and a “written statement of the reasons alleged for their removal” before the city council can take a final vote on removing them.
And Anthony Delcollo, a lawyer representing Hugg, said a public hearing is exactly what the city manager wants. Hugg did not directly respond to Spotlight Delaware’s multiple requests for comment.
“As Mr. Hugg was not provided any information regarding purported wrongdoing or performance issues prior to being advised that the City felt it was time to move on from his employment, our client looks forward to the opportunity to present his position in this hearing,” Delcollo said.
But it remains unclear when that required public hearing will take place.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no item referencing a hearing for Hugg was listed on the agenda for the city council’s next meeting scheduled for Monday, March 23. There also is no timeline in the city charter for how long a city manager can be on administrative leave, or when their public hearing must take place.
Dover City Solicitor Dan Griffith declined to comment on the decision to place Hugg on administrative leave, and the status of scheduling a public hearing.
Hugg has served as Dover’s city manager since early 2022. He first joined the city on a contracted basis in 2017, and ended up staying on with the city and rising to the role of city manager over the next five years.
Capital city tensions
The most recent example of Hugg’s alleged tension with city council members played out at city council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 26. During that meeting, council members discussed whether to approve $47,000 in funds for workforce development programs at a homeless shelter in downtown Dover.
Council President Fred Neil asked if any of his colleagues had been told about the pile of complaint letters Hugg received about the shelter back in December – they said they had not.
Prior to the start of that same meeting, council members discussed Hugg’s performance during an executive session, or a meeting of elected leaders not open to the public. When council returned to public session, they voted unanimously to “accept the recommendation of the city solicitor on the personnel matter.”
Multiple city officials confirmed to Spotlight Delaware that the “recommendation” was to place Hugg on administrative leave.
At subsequent city council meetings, Assistant City Manager Sharon Duca has taken over Hugg’s typical duties, including providing city manager’s announcements and providing additional information on ordinances up for consideration.
Council’s decision to place Hugg on administrative leave comes after a tumultuous nine months for the capital city.
Council members, police officers and even the mayor have been entangled in a controversy over Police Chief Thomas Johnson’s leadership since last summer, and a hotly contested panhandling ordinance first introduced last fall exposed divisions among the city’s elected officials.
Now, the move to oust Hugg marks the latest disagreement involving one of Dover’s highest paid employees and the city’s elected officials.
Hugg previously served as Smyrna’s town manager for 14 years and was said to be retiring from public service when he stepped down from that position in late 2016, according to reporting from the Daily State News.
Shortly after retiring from Smyrna, though, Hugg was hired as the acting director of planning and city development for Dover on a temporary, contract basis in early 2017.
At the time, city officials told the Daily State News he would only work for six months, and Hugg would not be a candidate for the position of city planner.
But Hugg ended up continuing in that position as the director of planning and community development for five years. He then was chosen by city council members to fill the permanent position of city manager in early 2022.
