Here's how much Salt Lake City paid in lawsuit settlements and claims in 2018

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — $676,000 was paid out in 81 lawsuits and settlements by Salt Lake City in 2018.

“The city is 200,000, it swells to three times that population during the daytime, so often times we have a lot of claims,” says Matthew Rojas, a spokesperson for the mayor.

Rojas says the city budgets $1 million a year for settlements. He says payouts have not exceeded the $1 million mark the past three years.

A risk management team decides what's fair. Rojas says 78 percent of complaints are dismissed and the city doesn't pay a dime.

"Being self-insured actually saves the taxpayer a tremendous amount of money versus getting an outside insurance company to settle complaints," Rojas said.

The smallest payout was $72 for a refuse issue. The police department settled the largest claim, $275,000. The details of that case were not immediately available.

“Salt Lake City is not immune to those types of problems,” says attorney Steve Sullivan.

Sullivan is a managing attorney with DeBry and Associates. He has won settlements against the city and says they must handle claims in a more appropriate way than insurance companies.

“They are trying to do what is right; they are trying to be fair and that is sometimes a difficult line to walk," Sullivan said.

The money to pay settlements comes from the city's general fund. The airport and utility departments must use the fees they collect to reimburse the general fund when they pay out a claim.

“They have a lot of employees out there, and the city is going to have its share of problems, and there's going to be their share of mistakes made,” Sullivan said.

The full list of 2018 settlement payouts can be read below: