HUNTINGTON BEACH

A settlement reached last week finally puts to bed a controversy that has swirled around the city and Mayor Peter Green since April 19, when he tried to silence a resident for criticizing a city official during a City Council meeting. The city agreed to pay $1,400 for John Briscoe’s attorney fees and court costs in exchange for dropping the lawsuit he filed after the incident. That amount is nearly half the settlement figure recommended by the city’s legal affairs committee in June, but Briscoe said he was satisfied. “My primary concern was righting what was wrong,” he said.

Before the settlement, the city already had addressed most of the demands made in the complaint. In June, the council removed the mayor’s opening statement at council meetings, which stated “negative comments directed at individuals are not acceptable,” and limited council members from interfering with public comments. Also, the switch turning off the public’s microphone was taken out of the mayor’s hands and placed in the city clerk’s control. Green maintains he did nothing wrong because the switch connected to Briscoe’s microphone wasn’t working, and the power remained on.