I got this note from Chico SOL editor Dave Waddell regarding his efforts to find out how much money the city of Chico is spending on attorneys to keep the public “from finding out about city abuses,” like out-of-line police actions that have landed the city in court.
“This City Council wastes countless sums on attorney’s fees trying to prevent the public from finding out about city abuses. In 2022, after trying for many months to get the City to follow the law, I was forced to sue the City for records that were clearly public related to a string of police killings in Chico (mostly on Mike O’Brien’s deadly watch as police chief). Once sued, the City almost immediately started forking over records (slowly) and agreed to pay my attorney’s fees, which were about $43,600. Recently, I submitted a Public Records Act request to determine how much the City wasted on its OWN attorneys in defending against my lawsuit. They’ve slow-walked giving me those records, and I still don’t have them all. But from what they have sent me to date, I know the “conservative” City Council crapped away at least $45,575 in fees to their L.A.-based legal conglomerate. That means they wasted a total of about $90,000 to try unsuccessfully to cover up how the Police Department killed on several occasions. As I said, that figure could go higher once they finally relinquish all the records I’ve requested. Why not just follow THE LAW on public records and save the poor taxpayers $90,000 (probably more). Yep, they definitely need tax increases if they’re going to keep this up (and they are!)“
You think you live in a nice little town, and then you find out it’s just because you go to bed early. And all the money – you know, there are plenty of people who live on $45,000/year or less, like my husband and I. They made Waddell sue, which is just outrageous to me. I’m hearing what Sean Morgan said, ringing in my ears – “$100,000 is nothing…” Yes, I took that out of the context of his full comment… “to secure Measure H.” But he meant what he said – it’s tax money, it’s nothing to him to spend 10’s of thousands covering up mistakes he’s made. And I believe the rest of council feels same, given the way they spend money.
Waddell came back with an update – he has the final total amount the city spend on attorneys to keep the public out of public business.
“I wanted to provide an update about my post on City spending to thwart releasing public records the PD and the City Council find embarrassing. In 2020, I sought public records on an epidemic of Chico police killings. After the Police Department withheld, destroyed and unlawfully blacked out some records, I finally and reluctantly sued in 2022. The City quickly caved and paid my attorney’s fees of $43,637 and provided the requested records (most of them anyway). Now, I’ve been able to fully document through heavily redacted records how much the City squandered on its own attorneys trying to keep those records secret: $52,090. That’s a grand total of more than $95,700 in tax revenue down the drain. What angers me most is that amount of tax money is apparently like loose change to them. I’ll keep you updated on future obstruction because, as you know, these folks ain’t a changin’ when it comes to expensive and unlawful cover-ups.“
Thanks Dave, I don’t know how you do it, but we’re glad to have you.
Chico Taxpayers Association 