As many of you know, I keep a running lists of questions that people have contacted me about. One of the most common one’s I hear is “How can the Town of Christiansburg get sued so much and then even the Town Council Members cannot find out what the settlement price was?”
That is a very good question and one that has been answered quite well by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government on a Blog article by Megan Rhyne “Secret lawsuit settlement amounts“. This same blog article was edited and appeared on the May 31, 2009 edition of the Roanoke Times “The public doesn’t know the price it paid“.
What does this mean for citizens? Ultimately, it means that your tax money is used to pay for the insurance that pays settlements in legal cases. Will you know how much or to whom the amount goes to? Not very likley. Will you receive a report of the affect these lawsuits will have on the insurance premiums in the future? What will be the long term financial affect to the taxpayer? There have been multiple instances where law suits have been applied against the Town of Christiansburg. These are almost always settled and with that settlement the records are sealed meaning that you, the taxpayer, have no access to that information.
Now, legal records do not seal themselves. Only a Judge can order the sealing of such records and the Judge has to be asked to do so. That means either the individual/group suing the Town or the Town’s representative MUST ask that those records be sealed.
In other jurisdictions, the facts are known by the elected officials. Christiansburg, however, seems to handle this a bit differently. Only the Town Manager is allowed to know. Town Council Members that were asked advised that they did not know and had been told they could not be given that information.
Some have suggested that it is the Town Attorney that is adding the factor of ‘silence’ to the equation. However, an attorney can advise a client, but it is ultimately the client (in Christiansburg’s case the Town Manager) who prompts the attorney to make a request to the Judge to seal the records. Somehow or other, the wording must be getting included in those orders that either none or only some of the Town Council members are being informed.
Our government has a responsibility to manage the town’s money. We as citizens have the right to see how well they perform that function. As the article referenced above notes, there are certainly some things within a law suit that should be kept confidential, but the amount of settlement hardly seems to be one of them. And, if Town Council members are kept out of the ‘knowledge loop’, how can they be expected to evaluate the situation and make sure it doesn’t happen again. In the recent past, one Town Council member responded to an issue by simply saying…”so sue us”. That’s easy to say when it is not your money or reputation that is one the line but rather the town’s. Just how many law suits have been filed against the Town of Christiansburg in the last 20 years. How many of those cases were settled and an order to seal the records issued by the Court? No. I don’t have the full answer to those questions. Yet:)
If you think taxpayers and Town Council members should be aware of the amount of settlements paid and how it can, will, or has affected insurance rates, please take the time to contact you Delegates and State Senators and let them know. You can find contact information at the Virginia General Assembly homepage.
