Nowhere does the public’s right to know get thwarted more than in lawsuits against government employees. The recent settlement approved by Toledo City Council and another under consideration offer good examples.
Many of our council members talk a good line about the public’s right to be informed. Then, they continue business as usual rather than demanding the city disclose more information about the settlements in question.
Those settlements, while paid by the city’s Risk Management Fund, ultimately cost taxpayers. Worse, the facts of the settlement remain hidden from the public.
Admittedly, Toledo isn’t the only city that handles things in this mode. It’s wrong wherever it takes place. Toledo and its leaders say they’re progressive. What could be more progressive than providing citizens with details of settled litigation and the aftermath?
It can be done. It may take some political guts to change the status quo. Toledoans might welcome a bit more guts from their officials.
Many cases possess no merit. The city should be pleased to disclose the good and the bad.
Cities, of course, get sued, by their own employees or members of the public who believe they’ve been wronged by the city and its employees.
It isn’t only the Toledo Police Department, although the most recent settlement involved the department.
It involved a police-involved crash in 2019. The settlement cost the city $278,500. An internal investigation took place, but city police said information could not be released because of pending litigation.
A second case that alleged police harassment was dropped from council consideration. That case was set to settle for $40,000.
The trouble is that citizens have no way to gauge whether these settlements make sense. Are they fair? Is the city settling for too much money, or too little? If mistakes were made, what penalties on employees were imposed. If the city or its employee did nothing wrong, are cases being settled simply to avoid the costs of further litigation? That is common in civil cases. Citizens should still get to know more about the claims in a public forum.
Council and the administration must negotiate contracts that allow for full disclosure of disciplinary action against police and other city employees. The city also should disclose corrective action and training provided to employees to avoid other problems.
Furthermore, the true cost, including attorney’s fees paid in lawsuits, must be disclosed along with the impact on insurance rates.
First Published April 17, 2022, 4:00 a.m.
