Why is Lee’s Summit keeping $2 million discrimination settlement a secret? | Opinion
Lee’s Summit quietly paid a $2 million settlement with former city prosecutor Terri Round — a staggering amount of money the public should have known about.
Lee’s Summit paid its former chief prosecutor $1.4 million in damages and $100,000 in lost wages, according to the agreement. Two of Round’s attorneys were paid $250,000 each to cover legal costs. Yet no one at City Hall thought it was a good idea to inform taxpayers they were on the hook for $2 million?
A confidentiality clause in the agreement precluded Round or the city from divulging information about the agreement — and therein lies the problem.
But that’s not all: A similar lawsuit making its way through the legal system could result in another hefty payout if the city is found to have harassed, discriminated and retaliated against Municipal Judge Dana Altieri.
What’s happening in Lee’s Summit government?
While I understand what kept the city from revealing the original payout, there is a simple solution that could improve transparency and accountability in Lee’s Summit while still following the law and protecting the privacy of the people involved in litigation: Make the correct redactions and upload the agreement to the city’s website.
Under state law, any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating to litigation involving a public governmental body is a public record that must be made available once the case is resolved or an agreement is signed. There are exceptions, including when a judge determines that keeping an agreement secret to protect a plaintiff outweighs the public’s right to know. No such order existed in Round’s case. She referred me to her attorney, Gene Graham, who declined to comment.
Although the case concluded about four years ago, I am writing about it now because of its connection to Altieri’s suit.
Municipal Judge Dana Altieri
Last year, Altieri claimed in a lawsuit filed in Jackson County Circuit Court that she was discriminated against based on sex and faced retaliation and a hostile work environment when she complained about being treated unfairly. That case is ongoing. Last month, Cass County Associate Circuit Judge Derek Spencer denied former court administrator Kelly Elliott’s motion for summary judgment. Elliott is named in Altieri’s lawsuit against the city.
Spencer was assigned the case when the entire 16th Judicial Circuit recused itself, court records indicate. Elliott, the municipal court’s supervisor, left Lee’s Summit in 2023, according to the records. It was not known if she left voluntarily or was forced out.
I reached out to Mayor Bill Baird and City Manager Mark Dunning for comment. In an email, Dunning said he was out of the office Friday and unable to respond to my inquiry.
Baird said he could not comment on pending litigation, but he did recall some of the details in Round’s lawsuit. When asked if the city had made changes inside City Hall to address some of the concerns brought up in these cases, Baird wrote: “Yes, changes have been made but mostly with regard to providing accountability to the policies in place.” He continued: “I wish I could share with you the measures I have gone to in doing so. I am passionate about people being treated with respect and dignity at all times, so I take it all very much to heart.”
In Round’s case, I searched the city’s website to find more information about the settlement but came up empty. A search of the city council’s agendas and minutes since 2019 failed to unearth details about the payout. A Google search turned up nothing.
Missouri Sunshine Law
Because the matter was considered closed, I was able to obtain a copy of Round’s settlement from the city through a Missouri Sunshine Law request.
But should operating under such secrecy have to be the status quo in Lee’s Summit?
When a governmental body pays a former employee seven figures to settle a lawsuit, taxpayers deserve to know the circumstances behind the litigation and its conclusion. Sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the workplace are bad enough. When this malfeasance occurs in local government, the people should not be left in the dark.
An argument could be made that plaintiffs would be less likely to come forward with claims of wrongdoing if they felt a potential lawsuit would put their privacy in jeopardy. I certainly understand that perspective.
But a multimillion-dollar payout here is hard to ignore. When this case was settled in 2021, Lee’s Summit’s general fund budget was about $75.8 million, according to its website. The amount Round was paid wasn’t pocket money.
Altieri on April ballot for municipal judge
Round sued the city in 2019 for discrimination, retaliation and creating a hostile work environment, similar claims made by Altieri in legal documents years later.
According to court records, Round claimed she was paid less than a male counterpart, and was harassed and retaliated against by city employees when she complained of gender discrimination and retaliation.
Two years later, both sides agreed to settle the lawsuit.
Altieri was deposed during Round’s lawsuit. When she testified, she told investigators that she too was being discriminated and retaliated against, according to court records. After the deposition, the harassment worsened, Altieri claimed in her suit.
Altieri also claimed she reported former court administrator Elliott to city officials but the city “did not take any action,” the suit reads. Her attorney, Kirk Holman, declined comment.
Altieri was elected in 2010 and has been reelected three times since as municipal judge. She is on the April 2026 ballot again, as are five City Council seats and the mayor.
Between now and then, stakeholders in Lee’s Summit must demand more openness from their city government when it comes to multimillion-dollar legal agreements.
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 5:04 AM.
