Colorado law states that if a government agency is found to have “wrongfully withheld” public records, the plaintiff's court fees must be paid for by the agency. It’s a way of making sure individuals are not dis-incentivised for seeking public information just because they can’t afford the litigation costs that might result if the government refuses to hand over public records.
Pitkin County commissioners will be asked during their work session today to approve the $100,534
expenditure. It will come from what’s called the “unassigned” fund, which has a balance of $4 million.
Assistant county attorney Laura Makar wrote in a memo to commissioners that the legal fight was a necessary attempt to “ensure a sense of personal and community safety.”
The case upended the county’s longstanding policy to protect whistleblowers’ identities in land use cases. The government feared Shook would retaliate.
The state appellate court ruled last year that Elesabeth Shook has the right to know which of her Red Mountain neighbors informed the county that she was building without proper permits.
