Councilman Seeks Scrutiny of Settlement

City Councilman Tony Cardenas introduced a motion Wednesday to have the council take jurisdiction of a proposed $5.7-million settlement of an overbilling lawsuit against public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard.

Cardenas supports the agreement, which was announced Tuesday. But he wants the council to review it to find out why an audit by the city controller identified $4.2 million in questionable billings, but an audit commissioned by the city attorney said the city might be able to prove in court that only $850,000 should be reimbursed.