Tuesday, members of the Warren city council will meet for the first time since more audio tapes allegedly containing the voice of Mayor Jim Fouts were leaked.
The tapes purportedly show Fouts making disparaging comments about African-Americans and women.
Fouts says the tapes are fake. The source of the tapes is unknown.
Warren city council secretary Robert Boccomino says council members will discuss the tapes and try to uncover more information about their source and when they were recorded.
“If you want to get to the bottom of anything you need the truth,” Boccomino says. “And that also helps you bring closure and then hearing.”
If it is eventually proven to be Fouts on the tapes, Boccomino says the mayor should resign.
Warren residents attending Tuesday’s meeting will be able to make public comments about the tapes.
Boccomino says councilman Scott Stevens has said he knows the source of the tapes, but Stevens hasn’t shared any information with the rest of council.
“I’ve always said that all [members of] council should know the same information,” Boccomino said. “If one council person knows a fact, the truth, then they should reveal that truth to the rest of them.”
Warren city council has shelved separate measures to subpoena councilman Stevens and to demand Fouts take a lie detector test.
According to Boccomino, the mayor’s office has the authority to launch an investigation into the legitimacy of the tapes.
“No one likes to force your peer or colleague to tell the truth,” Boccomino said. “We’re hoping for the mayor to come out. We’re hoping for whomever is involved to come out [with more information], but so far no one is.”
“Every meeting we ask for more information and no one comes forward,” Boccomino said.
Without more information, Boccomino says its likely city council will eventually attempt to create a non-binding resolution in attempt to leverage Fouts and others to reveal more information.
