Why are Columbia's mayor and council resistant to transparency?

From Columbia News, Views & Reviews:

It's not so hard to digest that Columbia's mayor hates transparency; he's been obdurate about policing transparency for years — think wrecked patrol cars and promises made and not kept.

What is hard to understand is that a majority of the borough council is transparency resistant. Seemingly, a majority of the newly elected (in November) councillors is. Not surprisingly, three of the entrenched from a previous council administration lean toward non-transparency. What is so hard to understand is the incoming councillors campaigned on a platform of transparency; yet now the majority appear to want to quell it.

MORE:

https://columbianewsandviews.com/2020/06/27/todays-news-items-6-28-2020/ 

Posters for missing woman appear in Columbia

POSTERS FOR MISSING WOMAN APPEAR IN COLUMBIA 

(Posters like the one shown above were posted along 3rd Street in Columbia recently.)

FROM LNP:

Crews are continuing a search for a missing Amish woman who police said never returned from a church service on Sunday. 

Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, of Upper Leacock Township, was last seen in Bird-in-Hand wearing a tan dress, white apron and a white cape, according to East Lampeter Township police.

Columbia Borough Council goes behind closed doors to discuss police use-of-force policy

Use-of-force policies as public records: 

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel at Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, noted use-of-force policies are public records under the Right-to-Know Law, and the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records has ordered agencies to provide public access to them when materials that truly risk safety are redacted.

Mayor not in attendance: 
At the end of the public meeting, Mayor Leo Lutz declined to attend the executive session. In an email exchange after the meeting, Lutz said he and police Chief Jack Brommer had no advance notice of the executive session, and that it would have been a waste of their time to join a discussion "without the necessary information to answer any questions that may arise."

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-borough-council-goes-behind-closed-doors-to-discuss-police-use-of-force-policy/article_3f967e94-b813-11ea-a273-4bf44f7ee168.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

York City Police's use of force policy now available to the public (Columbia Borough's policy is still not available to the public)

The City of York has released to the public its police department's use of force policy, which is currently being evaluated to ensure that it aligns with national recommendations, according to a news release.

The 22-page policy is available on the front page of the city's website, www.yorkcity.org.

The policy details when police officers can use chemical agents, such as pepper spray; conductive electrical weapons, such as a Taser; physical strikes, and deadly force. It took effect in November 2014 and was revised in March 2018.

MORE:

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2020/06/25/york-city-polices-use-force-policy-now-available-public-chokehold-pepper-spray/3258308001/ 

Columbia Borough Update - June 26, 2020

https://www.facebook.com/2114471538639775/posts/3059400320813554/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=e 

‘Godzilla dust cloud’ from Sahara expected to move into northeast this weekend

Meteorologists expect the dust cloud to travel northeast over the weekend, following a similar path to hurricanes.

MORE:

https://www.syracuse.com/weather/2020/06/sahara-dust-storm-blankets-southeastern-us-godzilla-dust-cloud-expected-to-travel-northeast-this-weekend.html 

Over 50 gather at prayer vigil in front of borough hall to address racial inequality

 Reverend Dr. Patricia McAllister of Columbia's Mt. Zion AME Church

A peaceful prayer vigil organized by "Power Lancaster County" took place at 4 p.m. today in front of Columbia's police station and borough hall. Over 50 people attended, among them pastors, two school board members and a councilwoman. Some displayed signs remembering those who died at the hands of law enforcement. Pastors addressed the issues of social justice and racial inequality and led prayers.

At the direction of Reverend Dr. Patricia McAllister of Columbia's Mt. Zion AME Church, the group paused for 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the amount of time that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin officer kept his knee on George Floyd's neck on May 25, ultimately killing Floyd, a 46-year-old black man.

The following photos were submitted (name withheld by request):