by Mary Rupert
State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., is questioning the $12.5 million settlement the Unified Government has made with Lamonte McIntyre and his family over alleged police misconduct.
McIntyre was freed from prison after the Midwest Innocence Project uncovered evidence of his innocence. He had served 23 years in prison.
Sen. Haley, the author of a Kansas law that pays $65,000 a year to persons who have been wrongfully incarcerated, said he is a huge proponent of compensating people who have been wrongfully incarcerated. McIntyre was awarded a total payment of about $1.5 million from the state of Kansas in 2020. His attorneys also received compensation from the state.
However, Sen. Haley’s initial reaction on Aug. 25 was to question the UG’s settlement in a civil case for $12.5 million to be paid to the McIntyres, he said.
When it comes to a small entity such as a city, Sen. Haley said he would not be happy with a large award.
“Taxpayers in our town should not have a lower quality of life in an already strained budget because of an injustice done to an individual,” Sen. Haley said recently, after seeing a story about the UG issuing temporary notes to pay for the settlement.
He said he thought the case needed to be relitigated and appealed to a higher court, if necessary. He thought a higher court would not impose such a large award against a city. He felt a higher court would look at what capacity the entity would have to pay. He thought the city should have to pay something, but not anywhere near $12.5 million.
Sen. Haley, who is also a board member of the Board of Public Utilities, said he had hoped that the UG could lower the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) on BPU bills this year, but extra expenses such as the settlement could make that more difficult.
The UG Commission approved the $12.5 million settlement with McIntyre on June 30, 2022. See https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-commission-approves-12-5-million-settlement-with-mcintyre/
In February 2020, McIntyre was granted compensation from the state of Kansas for about $1.5 million for wrongful incarceration. McIntyre served from 1994 to 2017. See https://wyandotteonline.com/mcintyre-granted-compensation-of-1-5-million-for-wrongful-conviction/
The state award also included health benefits, counseling and tuition to attend a postsecondary educational institution.
The 2020 court order stated that if McIntyre won a separate award against the state or any unit of government in a civil action in this case, he would have to reimburse the state for the amount of money that was paid in 2020.
At the Aug. 25 UG Commission meeting, the commission unanimously voted to issue municipal temporary notes to pay for the $12.5 million settlement.
The cost of financing the bonds is projected at upwards of $15 million, according to information presented at the meeting.
Kathleen von Achen, UG chief financial officer, presented different options for the UG to pay for the settlement.
“We currently do not have the budget to spend $12.5 million in cash,” von Achen said at the meeting. The UG would have to add to the budget or undertake a financing, she said.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend said she did not want to pay the settlement with cash.
There will be some loss of investment income associated with the issuance of bonds, von Achen said.
Von Achen said the bonds probably could be issued in February of next year. One of the options would allow for refinancing after five years.
While the best option may have been to pay cash, the concern is the impact on the city general fund if the UG were to pay cash, she said. The fund balance in 2023 would be at the 17 percent or two months’ reserve level, but later on, the fund balance would not be projected at that level, she said.