The Anchorage Assembly has changed how the city’s law department publicly discloses legal settlements.
Since 2023, the city attorney has released a quarterly report listing every legal claim the city settles out of court. The move came amid a number of high-profile lawsuits filed against the city under the administration of Mayor Dave Bronson.
City Attorney Eva Gardner had proposed doing away with the public reports entirely, citing concerns over the possibility of an increase in frivolous lawsuits against the city. Instead, she proposed, the city attorney would brief the Assembly on settlements annually in an executive session, closed to the public.
West Anchorage Assembly member Anna Brawley proposed an alternative during the body’s Tuesday night’s meeting. Her proposal makes the annual report public and sets a threshold for public disclosure of legal settlements at $500,000.
“I do recognize that this is certainly a compromise position from the original ordinance and from what is in current code, but it is offered at least as a negotiated compromise,” Brawley said.
East Anchorage Assembly member Yarrow Silvers proposed amendments to Brawley’s ordinance, requiring the reports twice a year and lowering the threshold for disclosure to $200,000. The proposal makes the settlements more transparent to the public, Silvers said.
“I had a look at the list of settlements, and I think there was only one or two over $500,000,” she said. “There was probably four or five, maybe six, over $200,000, and so the vast majority of the settlements seem to be fairly small amounts, $10,000 or less.”
A majority of the other Assembly members agreed and approved both amendments.
Ultimately, the Assembly voted 11 to 1 to approve the ordinance, with Silvers’ fellow East Anchorage Assembly member George Martinez opposed.
