Dallas City Council to vote on $61M settlement in back pay lawsuits
The Dallas City Council will vote next week to pay $61 million to settle four of six back pay lawsuits from police officers and firefighters — lawsuits that the mayor says could help bankrupt Dallas if allowed to proceed.
City Attorney Larry Casto said the settlement will be paid using the city's current bonding capacity and will not require voter approval. Some of the financial details still have to be ironed out, but financing it will not require a tax increase.
If approved, the settlement will avert a trial scheduled for Dec. 4 in Collin County. While the remaining two cases risk that the city could still be on the hook for hundreds of millions or more in claims, interest and legal fees, Casto said settling these four significantly reduces the peril.
"It's a wise, prudent fiscal move to remove what could be catastrophic results if we ever did have a jury that sees it the plaintiffs' way," Casto said.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas-city-hall/2017/11/10/61m-settlement-reached-4-6-police-fire-pay-lawsuits-mayor-feared-bankrupt-dallas