Ethics - Destruction of Evidence

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently reported¹ that the City of North Richland Hills had been sanctioned by a State District Judge for destroying evidence pertinent to a lawsuit that had been filed against the city.  This incident was the fourth documented case of destruction of evidence committed by the city.  The  fourth "documented" case!  There should never have been a first much less a fourth and there is no excuse for this kind of behavior by our city officials.  And how many cases are yet undocumented?

Who pays the bills (legal and otherwise) that result from this kind of mismanagement?  You do.  While our city leadership is quick to tell you about supposed budget woes that exist because you are not paying enough money, they will never tell you about the budget killers they create because of their ethical lapses. 

How many improvements to our city infrastructure have we had to forego in order to cover the legal liabilities created by poor leadership?  Too many of your tax dollars are going into the pockets of lawyers and to those wronged by the city instead of where they should go - toward improving streets, parks and the myriad other things the city is supposed to take care of.  We simply cannot afford the status quo.  It's time for new leadership.

1 - "Got evidence?  Not if it's destroyed" by Dave Lieber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 31, 2004.

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