Will Piqua Get The Answers It Deserves?
Vol. III, No 109 - Thoughts on the recent lawsuit filed in Delaware County
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No one in Piqua was shocked when a lawsuit surfaced over the city’s battery burning incident. What might surprise some is that litigation, usually viewed as a divisive and costly last resort, could be the one process that finally brings clarity to a troubling chapter in the community’s history.
For more than two years, residents have sought explanations about the uncontrolled burning of batteries. Their concerns were brushed aside, their questions redirected, and their trust eroded. The city’s handling of the controversy has left many in Piqua frustrated, and in some cases, convinced that local government cannot or will not address their grievances in an honest manner.
The situation was first pushed into the public spotlight when citizens began taking complaints to City Hall. It did not take long before it was clear that something was deeply wrong. Yet the official response fell short, with delays, half-answers, and a persistent unwillingness to deal directly with the issue. The City Commission attempted to quiet some of the criticism by appointing a special committee to investigate how the burnings occurred, but even that effort ultimately failed.
Five residents stepped forward to serve on that committee. They gave up countless evenings with their families to pore through records, seek answers, and demand accountability. From the beginning, they faced an uphill climb. Requests for documents or clarification were often ignored. Straightforward questions were met with vague replies. Internal disputes about whether to hire an outside attorney consumed the commission’s attention and slowed progress.
Just as the committee began to show signs of traction, the process was abruptly stalled. The filing of the lawsuit provided the necessary pretext for the city to shut the effort down. In truth, the committee was placed in an impossible position. Without adequate support and with constant roadblocks, their chances of completing a comprehensive report were slim. Their failure to publish findings by the time litigation was filed rests not on them, but on a system that resisted their work at every turn. For their service, those five volunteers deserve gratitude, not criticism. They took their mandate seriously and acted in good faith, even as officials seemed intent on undermining their efforts.
That decision to shut down the inquiry only reinforced a growing perception within Piqua that city leaders were less interested in uncovering the truth than in protecting themselves. For many residents, it confirmed the suspicion that any meaningful accountability would have to come from beyond City Hall.
Now the community turns its attention to the courtroom. Unlike the committee process, litigation will operate with rules that the city cannot easily manipulate. The discovery process will bring hard facts forward—documents, testimony, and evidence that will provide a clearer picture than anything residents have received so far. Those facts may not be flattering to Piqua’s leadership, but they will be public. And in a city where trust in government is already so fragile, continued secrecy is far more damaging than transparency.
No one can know how the lawsuit will conclude. It would be unwise to speculate on a ruling or settlement. But what can be said with confidence is that the process itself represents a path toward accountability. Win or lose, the city will have to reckon with evidence, and it will have to respond not just to a judge, but to its own citizens—the very people who continue to feel misled and deceived.
The deeper problem in all of this is the collapse of trust. Communities depend on confidence in their institutions to function. When residents believe their government is evasive, when committees collapse without answers, and when lawsuits replace dialogue, that confidence erodes further. Piqua is entering another crisis of trust in its leadership, one that will not be repaired quickly.
Healing will not come from one committee or one courtroom verdict. It must come from a change in posture from city officials themselves. Honesty, openness, and transparency are the first steps. The battery burning controversy underscored what happens when those values are absent. Litigation may now be the only way forward, but the city still has a chance to build something better for the future—if it chooses to level with its people.
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