The City of Pacific will stay Pacific after all, residents learned Wednesday night.
The council voted to approve a new liability and property-insurance policy, which means further steps to discorporate or be annexed by Auburn won’t be necessary, president Leanne Guier said.
“This keeps the city intact,” she said. “We’ll be functioning just as we always have.”
It’s a significantly more expensive policy that provides about half the liability coverage, and it might require adjusting the city’s budget this spring, Guier said, adding that cheaper options might be available for 2014.
The city’s current insurance provider says it will stop coverage at the end of the year, which Guier has said could leave city employees, such as police officers, personally liable while on the job.
The council still needs to discuss purchasing back coverage from the current provider, to cover the city for claims based on incidents that happened during the past few years, Guier said.
The provider denied a request to extend Pacific’s insurance this month, but it asked to be notified of any changes to the city’s executive leadership.
Mayor Cy Sun was arrested trying to enter the clerk’s office in July, and in September he was subjected to a court order to replace employees who resigned or were fired under his tenure.
Sun attended Wednesday’s council meeting but declined to comment after.
The new insurance is good news for the group of residents trying to recall Sun, group coordinator and Pacific business owner Tracey Apata said.
The group has about $10,000 left to pay on its $35,000 legal bill, and Apata said residents will be more willing to contribute now that they’re reassured the city won’t dissolve.
“We know we have a city; now we need to go forward and recall,” Apata said.
Sun appealed a decision by a King County Superior Court judge that would have allowed the Committee to Recall Cy Sun to start collecting signatures to hold a special election to oust the mayor. The appeal sent the matter to the Supreme Court, where it is still being reviewed.
Alexis Krell: 253-597-8268
alexis.krell@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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