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Committee moves litigation settlement items to closed session after public criticism of Office Depot deal
Summary
Items 6–21, litigation-related settlement items, were called together and the committee voted to convene into closed session; a public commenter alleged Office Depot defrauded the city of roughly $5.75 million and criticized a proposed $4.2 million settlement.
The Rules Committee called Items 6–21 together on Feb. 17; these items relate to existing litigation and potential settlements. The Clerk asked whether the committee would like to convene into closed session with the city attorney’s office to discuss the matters. The committee accepted public comment prior to going into closed session.
Public comment included an extended statement by Thomas Picarello, who urged the committee to reconsider an Office Depot settlement (Item 21). Picarello said he reviewed the documents and that the controller’s materials showed Office Depot had "defrauded the city, minimum of 5 and 3 quarter million dollars," and criticized a settlement that would recover $4.2 million while continuing the city's relationship with the vendor for five years.
After public comment, the committee voted to move into closed session to discuss the litigation items. Committee members then moved items 6–21 forward to the Board with recommendation and adopted a procedural motion regarding disclosure before adjourning the meeting.
Because the litigation items were referred to closed session, the committee did not discuss settlement terms in public at length; the public commenter’s allegations were recorded for the public record and will be considered as part of closed-session deliberations or later public materials.
