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Council says settlement offers and mediations were rejected before litigation; summary given at open session
Summary
In a brief report out of closed session, the city attorney said multiple settlement offers and mediation attempts were rejected before litigation commenced; the council said it wanted the public record to reflect that alternatives were explored.
At the start of the April 21 meeting the city attorney reported out of closed session that the council had discussed pending litigation and that, before litigation commenced, a settlement offer and two mediation attempts were made and rejected; a later settlement offer made after litigation began was also rejected.
"For the record, the council would like the public to know that before this litigation commenced, there was a settlement offer made that was rejected," City Attorney Josh Rinski told the council while reading a brief report out. He added that "two mediation attempts were offered" and that an additional settlement offer after litigation started was also rejected.
Mayor Maida and council members said they wanted that information part of the public record, and the meeting then moved to public comment and subsequent agenda items.
Why it matters: The report out is the council's public summary of closed-session deliberations required when particular actions are taken; it signals the presence of litigation and that settlement negotiations occurred but were not accepted.
Next steps: No action was taken in open session on the litigation item; the report was informational only.
