Westchester won't divulge cost of legal fight vs. HUD
Elizabeth Ganga, TJN
As Westchester County considers filing a second lawsuit against the federal government over the loss of millions in community development grants, the administration of County Executive Rob Astorino is refusing to disclose the cost of its lengthy legal fights over the county's compliance with a 2009 fair housing settlement.
The Journal News filed a Freedom of Information request with the county Law Department asking for the cost of the legal work, which has included a battle over source of income legislation that the county lost at the Court of Appeals and a continuing case at the Court of Appeals over the loss of $7.4 million in community development grants from 2011.
Astorino, who recently announced he is running for governor, is asking for permission to sue the Department of Housing and Urban Development again over $10 million in grants from 2012 and 2013, which have been withheld and could be lost permanently.
The Law Department, which has a budget of $11.2 million and 95 staff members, has done the legal work on the settlement using its own lawyers since shortly after Astorino took office in 2010. In response to the FOIL request, the Law Department initially provided only a $14,000 bill from an outside law firm from 2010 and, after an appeal, denied a request for in-house billing records. A request to a county spokesman for the information was also denied.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2014/03/07/westchester-divulge-cost-legal-fight-vs-hud/6182575/