Fort Collins to Pay Over $80,000 in Panhandling Settlement

The City of Fort Collins has reached an out-of-court settlement and will end up paying more than $80,000 to  the American Civil Liberties Union and will not enforce passive panhandling.

As the Coloradoan reported, the details surround settlement were just recently announced make it so the case did not make it to court.

This whole battle began as Fort Collins was trying to enforce passive panhandling laws. the ACLU representing 4 homeless individuals said it was unconstitutional and violated their rights to free speech.

As part of the agreement, the city will end up paying the ACLU $82,500 in legal fees, $100 to each of the three homeless people that are seeking damages, and it will be required to give the civil liberties union written notice before City Council considers adoption of any new panhandling ordinances.

How do you feel about the outcome versus what the city was doing to combat the situations?