After three years, the end to the lawsuit brought by former assistant City Manager Londi Lindell is a relief.

But there is also pain. The city will have to pay a $90,000 fine concerning public records act violations (unless they appeal) out of public funds. The $1 million to Ms. Lindell will be paid by the city’s insurance company, which provides a pool of funds for such purposes for 149 cities in the state of Washington.

The settlement agreement prepared by attorneys on both sides in the case states that neither side admits wrongdoing.

But right or wrong, the damage to the city cannot be ignored. Its reputation and financial position have taken a hit.

Ms. Lindell will likely not fare much better — no doubt the money she will receive will not make up for legal expenses or loss of income. It is clear that both sides bear responsibility for this unfortunate mess — either in what actually occurred or what did not occur to avoid this altogether.

Finally, city staff and public resources have been expended where they could have been better spent elsewhere.

A trial, as painful as it might have been, would have at least given each side the opportunity to present their case to a jury instead of just to each other and the media. A group of people without interest in the outcome would have been best suited to sort this out. Such a process might have offered us our best chance of deciding what actually happened between the players.

The next step is to decide what the city should do in the future to protect itself against such allegations. The Council and the city are determined to move ahead and put this behind them, pointing to changes in employment policies completed at least two years ago.

We think the city of Mercer Island is an exceptional place. And beyond the residents here, credit for that must go to the city staff and its leaders who care deeply about it.

It is time to mop up and move on.