Polk County supervisors on Tuesday are expected to vote on a proposed $60,000 settlement to resolve an unusual and explosive libel, extortion and civil conspiracy case brought by Supervisor Matt McCoy against four fellow supervisors and County Administrator John Norris.
The amount, recommended by Polk County Risk Management, would cover McCoy’s current and future legal costs. The resolution to be voted on Tuesday says the settlement is “in the best interest of the public that the claims be resolved without the expense and risk of continued litigation.”
Supervisors said they will have a joint statement following Tuesday’s meeting.
McCoy’s was one of several lawsuits filed by current or former county employees stemming from a contentious period in county government politics after he took office in 2019.
A civil suit filed in 2021 by ousted former human resources chief Jim Nahas, which helped stir those divisions, isn’t scheduled to go to trial until October.
The county also has sought to dismiss, and a judge has yet to decide, a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought in 2022 by Deputy County Administrator Sarah Boese against McCoy and the county. This month, Julie McCauley, Boese’s former assistant, also sued Boese personally for abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging her former boss tried to block her from obtaining workers’ compensation benefits tied to a hostile work environment. McCauley dropped another lawsuit against the county tied to that benefits claim.