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Neighborhood Alliance Public Records Settlement
Neighborhood Alliance Public Records Settlement
March 21, 2012
The mission of the Neighborhood Alliance has always been to hold local government accountable to the rule of law, and to uphold transparency in growth management decisions and land use planning activities.
Six years ago members of the Neighborhood Alliance obtained credible information from within Spokane County’s Planning Department that state law rules on hiring public employees were not being followed.
It appeared from this information that a county commissioner’s son had been chosen for a job in the planning department before the job opening was posted to the public.
The Neighborhood Alliance followed up with a public records request—which, if replied to properly—could have cleared Spokane County of impropriety, or confirmed it.
The County’s decision-makers at the time chose not to provide the information and documents required by our state’s public disclosure laws and so the Neighborhood Alliance filed a public records act lawsuit to hold them accountable.
Five and a half years later in 2011, the Washington Supreme Court rendered a strong opinion based on the facts and state statutes in favor of the Neighborhood Alliance that confirmed our belief Spokane County had broken the law. The high court’s decision sent the matter back to the trial court for a determination of penalties and attorney fees.
A negotiated settlement agreement reached with Spokane County in February ended the case, subject to the agreement of the Board of County Commissioners this week, and finally measures—in the amount of almost half a million dollars—the liability of Spokane County for decisions by elected officials and their staff not to provide records that belong to the public.
Apparently this is the third highest settlement of a public records case in Washington’s history.
Nevertheless, the message is clear to future government officials that the public and the courts will hold them accountable.
The Neighborhood Alliance looks forward to continuing its mission to foster good government for the benefit of all.
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Our Purpose
To provide organizational infrastructure, networking capabilities and a neighborhood planning strategy and curriculum designed to empower and motivate citizens to become an effective, powerful and credible voice on issues of improved quality of life for our community.
