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The Lawrence Common Council approved a settlement agreement Wednesday to close a messy legal battle between the legislative body and Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier. The council appropriated $335,000 to pay legal fees.
The lawsuit largely dealt with the annual budgeting process that took place in 2021. The Democrat-led council alleged that the Collier administration intentionally did not submit the budget in order to deny the council its preferred spending plan and hired Indianapolis-based law firm Bose McKinney & Evans to investigate the situation.
The council appropriated $250,000 to pay the law firm, which led Collier, a Republican, to file a lawsuit against the Common Council alleging the council overstepped its authority.
At a regular meeting Wednesday, the council unanimously approved a settlement agreement that ends the Bose McKinney & Evans investigation and ensures both parties’ legal fees are covered.
An appropriation of $260,000 will be made so that the council can pay what it owes to Bose McKinney & Evans, along with another $10,000 to Westfield-based O.W. Krohn & Associates, an outside auditor hired by the council.
An appropriation of $75,000 will be used to pay the mayor’s legal counsel, Indianapolis-based Kroger Gardis & Regas LLP.
Had the two parties not come to an agreement, the case would have gone before a panel of five Marion Superior Court judges. Those judges would have determined who was at fault for the budget debacle and whether the council had the authority to appropriate funds without Collier’s permission.
Collier is not seeking reelection after two terms as mayor. Instead, Republican Dave Hofmann and Democratic Councilor Deb Whitfield will face off for the office in November.
Democratic members of the majority-Democrat council said they still blamed the Collier administration for the fight, but said the settlement was necessary to prevent a costlier court battle.
“From tonight’s approved settlement, we all agree that errors originated from the city controller not submitting the approved 2022 budget to the state of Indiana,” Shawn Denney, chair of the council’s Finance Committee, said in written comments. “While the details of the omission will no longer be investigated, this experience has shed light on what I believe to be bigger issue, and that is state law is missing the necessary checks and balances for municipal governments and clear repercussions for when disparities arise between local legislative and executive branches.”
In a statement, Collier said the administration believed the investigation was “an expensive intrusion into the city’s 2022 budget” and called the nearly $500,00 spend “frivolous and unnecessary.”
Collier also indicated that the investigation was politically motivated.
“Moving forward, let’s all remember the oath that all are required to take prior to assuming our elected positions. Most important to remember is that we pledge to do what is best for the citizens of Lawrence–regardless of party membership.”
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The Lawrence Township Democrats are some of the shadiest politicians out there.
Schneider was one of the worst and he was a republican.
This mayor should never have taken this action.