Maybe I can give out a thousand reasons why…

    One of my favorite papers in the state called today to tell me their city was recently involved in a legal dispute with a local resident.  The city turned it over to their insurance company which had settled the matter.  The paper requested the settlement information and the city’s attorney declined to provide it.  Issues of privacy, confidentiality, he said.  The city didn’t have access to the information on the settlement (yeah, right).  It was the insurance company’s actions, not the city’s, he said.

    A thousand excuses.  None of them any good.  This attorney needs to read the statute on closure involving litigation matters, where it clearly says “However, any … settlement agreement relating to … causes of action… involvintg a public governmental body or any agent or entity representing its interest or acting on its behalf or with its authority, including any insurance company acting on behalf of a public government body as its insured, shall be made public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon or upon the signing by the parties of the settlement agreement….”  It’s right there in the statute.  Lawyers generally know how to read statutes.  At least, the good ones do….

    A thousand reasons why public bodies try to keep information secret.  One reason they shouldn’t — it’s the taxpayer’s dollars that are involved.  It’s a good thing we have Unterrified papers in this state to keep these public bodies toeing the line!