Legal battles threaten to drain hundreds of thousands of dollars
from city coffers
Local officials have lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding a controversial legal battle with a former building official, but continue to withhold information related to botched roadwork along the city’s western traffic artery.
Both cases threaten to drain hundreds of thousands of dollars from city tax coffers.
On Monday, city council members will hold a closed meeting to discuss a possible settlement with Rex Wyatt, a former building official fired in 2004 for alleged sexual harassment.
Late last year, councilmen invoked a state law never before used in Gilroy to shroud their discussion of the case in complete secrecy. The move came after a superior court judge ordered Wyatt to be reinstated and the city to pay him lost wages and benefits.
The Dispatch learned from multiple sources who requested anonymity that the closed session of city council was intended to discuss the case and the possibility of an out-of-court settlement.
The decision to withhold any details about the subject matter of the meeting inspired sharp criticism from one of the state’s leading champions of open government.
City Administrator Jay Baksa said there were no special considerations in the decision to lift the layer of secrecy and announce to the public, as part of the meeting’s agenda, that council would be discussing the case.
While the city has adopted a more open stance on the Wyatt case, it has tightened its grip on all information related to roadwork along Santa Teresa Boulevard. City attorneys this week denied a Dispatch request for a copy of the pavement analysis performed on the half-finished road, which is already deteriorating because of water infiltration.
Both city officials and representatives of contractor Granite Construction Company have begun positioning themselves for a legal battle that could decide who picks up the bill for repairs. The city, citing a potential lawsuit, has refused to disclose the pavement analysis or any correspondence related to the matter.
City attorneys cited recent case law and statutes to back up the position.
In the meantime, officials expect to begin negotiations with Granite Construction in the first half of March. The company in recent days filed a notice of potential claim against the city, which in October ordered the company to halt work after discovering tire ruts in the newly paved road.
“They’re putting us on notice that because they can’t finish paving that the project is going to cost more,” Baksa said. “They’re claiming that we’re going to have to pay for it.”
