AMARILLO -- Pronews Seven found out on Tuesday that the federal lawsuit filed in 2005 regarding single-member districts has been put on the back burner until at least 2010.

But that does not mean that the city did not spend money defending the suit. The City Attorney told Pronews Seven that Amarillo spent $119,906.61. That total does not include a billing from April. The nearly $120 thousand went towards hiring specialty lawyers from Austin, court costs and paying census data experts.

"Election lawsuits are highly based on population census data and you have to hire demographic experts," said City Attorney Marcus Norris.

The city budgets for legal spending but certainly hopes it doesn't have to spend it.

"It's taxpayer's money anyway you want to look at it," said City Commissioner Jim Simms.

City officials sayitismoney thatcould have been spent elsewhere.

"It's such a small amount in the scheme of payroll it's hard to say,but we do programs likewhenkiddos have lunch in the park when they're not in school...programs like that. There's all kinds of things that it could have gone to," said Simms.

The city is still quick to point out that official papers have not been filed saying that the lawsuit has been dropped.

"Whatever this rumor or press release is, no one has yet to speak to the city directly," said Norris.

If the lawsuit is officially dropped and then filed again after 2010,the whole legal process will start over clean.Thatmeansthat$120 thousandwill have been spent and no legal groundwill have beengained.

"It's an expense we wish we could have avoided but we didn't have any choice. they sued us.They started it," said Norris.

The city will attend a hearing on Mondaythat is separate from this federal lawsuit.Thehearing is regarding the contest that was filed after the single-member district ballot issue failed to pass in November.