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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Woods Says Ferguson Should Have Clarified Sooner

Lawyer Rod Gillis questioning City Manager Pat Woods in minute detail about how John Ferguson's statements allegedly defamed the pension board.  As Gillis went through Ferguson's statements with a fine-toothed legal comb, Woods fired back that Ferguson didn't have a solicitor standing over his shoulder clarifying every sentence and every word.

Woods said any reasonable person who heard phrases like “desperate gamblers”, “sweeping under the rug”, and “severely underfunded” would have figured there's something wrong with the pension board. He also said that if Ferguson Wasn't referring to the board (as Gillis suggested) Ferguson should have just said that from the get-go when first asked for an apology.

Gillis replied “You already agreed with me that there's something wrong with the pension plan.” and said Woods was reluctant to to make changes even when he knew there were benefits to be had.