BOISE, Idaho — This story originally appeared in The Idaho Press.
The city of Boise has spent $1.65 million on settling notices of tort claims and lawsuits filed since fiscal year 2018. Of that, almost $510,000 was spent on police settlements.
The settlement dates are based on when the claim was filed, not when the money was paid. The underlying records are exempt, according to the Boise City Attorney’s Office, because after a claim is concluded, only statistical data and the amount paid are public records.
“For you and me, that’s a lot of money. If somebody gave me (that amount), I’d stop answering my email,” Boise City Councilmember Patrick Bageant said. “But the city budget is hundreds of millions of dollars. If the city was paying $40, $50, $60 million a year in legal settlements I’d be very alarmed.”
So far this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, the city has spent $56,000 on settlements. The highest amount of tort claim settlements was $574,000 in fiscal year 2019.
And the city council sometimes is involved in these settlements, if the settlement is above $100,000. Otherwise, city staff work with the person who filed the claim, a spokesperson said.
For those above $100,000, the council will typically consider the settlement in an executive session. Sometimes, a privileged legal memo explains the case and recommendation, Bageant said.
“It’s an art,” Bageant said. “What is a case worth in terms of settling or what should we pay or what should we not pay?”
Bageant said the three biggest factors are whether the city made a mistake and owes someone money; is the amount of money a good offer and less than what would be paid at trial; and if the city loses the case, would it set a precedent that’s bad for the city.
“This is all super normal for any business, government, etc. Amazon gets sued all the time,” Bageant said. “If you’re a big entity, with lots of employees, lots of money, doing lots of things, you are likely to have disagreements with somebody.”
Cities receive a wide variety of notices of tort claims from people. For example, from April 7 to May 22, 2023, the city of Boise received 18 notices of claims.
The claims include someone who said a tree limb detached from a city tree above their pickup truck, and another person who needed to pay for biological clean-up and other expenses after the Boise Police SWAT team subdued a suspect at a home on State Street.
Some claims turn into lawsuits.
Last fall, the city of Boise settled a discrimination lawsuit with a former Boise Public Library employee. The Idaho Human Rights Commission determined that Jax Perez was sexually harassed and discriminated against on the job because they are nonbinary.
Although it’s not included in the $1.65 million, Boise earlier this year settled a lawsuit with former Boise police officer Norman Carter for $375,000. Carter filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2018 alleging that a Boise police lieutenant had sold weapons out of his police office through his private company.
This tort isn’t included because it was filed more than five years ago.
“The settlement was reached after both parties evaluated the merits of the case and the resources required for further litigation,” the city said at the time.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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