Daytona Beach City Manager Deric C. Feacher Will Be The Fall Guy

On the heels of the excellent reporting by WFTV's Demi Johnson, that 26-year Battalion Chief Andre Chaney was fired, officially, for missing a mandatory meeting, but oh by the way, he was also talking to the city auditor as a whistleblower regarding Fire Department wrongdoings, I believe City Manager Deric C. Feacher is about to take the fall.

The purchase card fiasco, not updating purchasing policies yet knowing that they were decades old, the FD issues, the state audit, the mileage tracking of city-owned vehicles, the list of alleged fraud is never-ending. It has all happened under Mr. Feacher's watch.

And someone has got to go, someone has to be publicly shamed. It seems to me that he is the leading candidate. As I wrote before, Mr. Feacher best polish that resume and update his LinkedIn.

How do I see this playing out?

Commissioners Stacy Cantu and Quanita May had voted earlier in April to terminate Mr. Feacher.

That's two for not renewing his contract, which expires on May 31.

During that vote, Commissioner Monica Paris decided to keep Mr. Feacher in place, yet was open to changing her mind as she said her vote was "for this evening."

Well, that evening was April 5. Now, with a whistleblower being axed from the Fire Department after Mr. Feacher guaranteed there would be no retaliation against a firefighter who spoke with City Auditor Abinet Belachew, that seems enough for Ms. Paris, a prudent thinker, to change her mind. Put Ms. Paris in the we are terminating Mr. Feacher column.

That's three for not renewing.

Mayor Derrick Henry knows which way the political winds blow. He won't have an issue seeing that wind blow Mr. Feacher right out of City Hall. Same for Commissioner Ken Strickland.

I believe Commissioner Dannette Henry could flip and fire Mr. Feacher as well. She exhibits a common decency and caring attitude for her district, and this is a moment of clarity that I bet she knows in her heart requires setting an example.

The person who is hard to know which way she will go is Commissioner Paula R. Reed. She has stated that they don't have to follow rules when it comes to evaluating Mr. Feacher. She has said that the review Mr. Feacher has written about himself is good enough for her. (If I made that up, you wouldn't believe me, right? That is crazy.)

However, Ms. Reed is inconsequential as I judge it, given that the others are likely to jettison Mr. Feacher.

City Hall will be packed tight for the May 6 Commission meeting. Too bad the city can't sell tickets; it'd be a good way to claw back some of the fraudulent tax-dollar spending that City Manager Deric C. Feacher is responsible for overseeing.

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read.

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Photo Credit: Daytona Beach News Journal

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