A felonious municipal employee and the city's 2006-2007 fiscal year budget were the topics addressed at Monday's Durham City Council meeting.
The meeting began with a discussion of Dwight Bagley, a former gang member the city hired to "lead people out of that [gang] lifestyle," according to City Manager Patrick Baker.
The Hillsborough Police Department arrested Bagley-who was convicted of second-degree murder 11 years ago at the age of 15-for the shooting of a 22-year-old man in Hillsborough Jan. 16, the day before he began work at the city's water resources department.
Bagley was hired through a new city program called Project Strike, which targets prominent gang members and encourages them to use their influence to prevent other young men from entering gang life.
Bagley was Project Strike's second employee, and Baker took full responsibility for his hiring.
"I had extremely high hopes for Mr. Bagley and thought he was the ideal candidate to lead people out of this sort of life," Baker said. "It's personally disappointing because I put my reputation on the line for Mr. Bagley."
Mayor Bill Bell and council members Cora Cole-McFadden and Howard Clement expressed their strong support for Baker and Project Strike, which they praised as an innovative approach to combating gang violence.
Council member Thomas Stith sounded the lone note of skepticism.
"How do we go about this process? How do we vet the process?" Stith said. "Right now we've got a city employee sitting in the Orange County jail on half-a-million dollars bond."
After discussing the Bagley imbroglio, the Council opened up the floor for public comments concerning the 2006-2007 FY budget.
The only speakers were a series of affordable housing advocates who called for the city to increase its financial support for weatherizing projects and a variety of other initiatives.
A member of the Citizens Advisory Committee, Lanya Smith, praised the Council for its "terrific" support of housing efforts.
Bell then repeated his call for a safer Durham and cited Project Strike as a key element of the city's efforts to curb gang violence.
"I unequivocally support the program," Bell said. "If we're ever going to move beyond where we are in this community we need to continue to take a risk with programs like these."
At least one audience member was critical of the city's crime-fighting efforts.
Sheryl Smith, whose son Todd Douglas was killed in a drive-by shooting in November, sat in the first row of the Council chamber with a sign that read "Todd Douglas Case Not Closed."
The sign featured the faces of three young black men whom Smith claimed participated in her son's killing, but who weren't charged with a crime.
"They're allowing cold-blooded killers on the street," Smith said. "Some of these children are still taking guns to Durham Public Schools."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.