Sometimes the crystal ball is right — at least partially so.
Rumors that county commissioners were working to settle, instead of fight, a long-standing lawsuit, were rampant during the last county election.
The suit filed by the Old Augusta Development group in late 2010, claimed the group bought a 472-acre tract in 2005 based on county promises of water and sewer service. The service has never been provided. The “promise” was based on a letter by then Commission Chairman Hubert Sapp saying water and sewer service can be “available to the site by July 2006.”
Original partners in the Old Augusta Group were former Commission Chairman Gregg Howze, the late Philip Heidt and the late Carey Heidt, Keith Johnson, local attorney Mickey Kicklighter, Parker Rahn and William Rahn.
Former County Chairman Dusty Zeigler, who ran against Commissioner Vera Jones in 2012, voiced his concerns back then at a candidate forum.
“I fear that the incumbent (Jones) is willing to exercise her favoritism to her alliances by encouraging the board of commissioners to acquiesce and pay off a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the county. I anticipate this of course to increase the budget dramatically and I would like to stop it,” Zeigler said.
At the time we were also concerned; we felt the county could win this case so there was no need to settle.
In the cold, hard light of day, however, it’s not hard to change an opinion.
Any alleged favoritism doesn’t even matter when it comes down to facing a judge and jury.
No one ever knows what a jury will do. Each side may think they have a pretty strong case but, in the end, a panel of everyday folks can cost someone their freedom or have their financial future in their hands.
Faced with jury selection and a trial with a possible $17 million judgment following, county commissioners met in an emergency session late Friday and decided that stark reality was a risk they weren’t willing to take.
Commissioners voted unanimously to pay $7 million to settle the case. In return, the county will get the 472-acre property that was the subject of the lawsuit.
That’s painful. What would have been excruciating, however, was the judgment the county might have faced if it lost the case.
Zeigler feels this case is a sad example of blaming others.
“The parody is that any citizen who truly follows politics in Effingham understood that this was going to happen!” he said. “The farce is that it has become so American for one to find a way to blame the government when his investment speculations fail, then find a way to recoup his money from the taxpayers.”
That may very well be true.
We will never know which way the jury would have voted in this case.
What we do know, is the county will at least have the opportunity to recoup the payout if they can sell the property.
As much as we dislike this vote to settle — and we do — we believe in the end it is the only decision commissioners could make.