The City Council will begin discussing Wednesday whether to fill
the now vacant city attorney position or hire a general municipal
law firm to provide legal services.
The City Council will begin discussing Wednesday whether to fill the now vacant city attorney position or hire a general municipal law firm to provide legal services.
The discussion follows the resignation of Helene Leichter, effective April 20, in exchange for a promise not to sue the city except under a worker’s compensation claim. In the latest settlement, the council agreed to pay Leichter $233,055.80 including salary and benefits to July 1, $161,250 of which compensates for “alleged physical injury or sickness.” Both sides agreed not to release details of the settlement.
An informal poll of the council Monday found three members leaning toward replacing Leichter and two preferring to wait for more information.
Mayor Dennis Kennedy, who was on the council in the late 1990s when the first in-house attorney (Gary Baum) was hired, said he would prefer the in-house variety.
“I believe that having our own city attorney is the best option to take,” Kennedy said.
“He or she doesn’t handle all litigation, but directs the outside legal advice. It’s important to bring in skills to handle perchlorate, land use, personnel, mobile home issues – every one requires a different set of expertise. Contracting out for services still requires an attorney knowledgeable in managing those cases.”
Kennedy said he wasn’t gun shy of in-house attorneys despite the expensive end to Leichter’s employment since he experience what happened before Baum was hired.
“We were really back backlogged with legal issues,” he said. “We had just filed a lawsuit against (contract attorney) Marc Hynes for dropping the ball.”
Hynes missed the statute of limitations deadline for filing a lawsuit over bad water pipe material (polybutylene) and, since the city had to dig up and replace all its lines, the oversight was expensive, Kennedy said.
The mayor said the city eventually recovered some money from the firm that provided the defective pipes and more from Hynes’ insurance company – almost $1 million.
“I could see that we needed an in-house attorney,” Kennedy said.
At least one other councilman agrees with him.
Councilman Greg Sellers said, while the city has had both versions of representation, he prefers an in-house attorney.
“But I’ll keep an open mind,” he added. “It was obvious to me that if they do it right, you’ve got somebody focused just on Morgan Hill’s needs.”
Proactive leadership from the city attorney, he said, can save money in negotiating contracts and dealing aggressively with claims.
Councilman Steve Tate prefers to wait.
“I think we ought to think about it for a couple of months,” Tate said. “There are good arguments on both sides but, for the moment, we have a competent firm on board.”
Councilman Mark Grzan joins Kennedy and Sellers but from a different direction.
“I think we probably should hire a full-time attorney,” Grzan said. “And I’d love to have somebody who actually lived in the city – somebody with a resident’s viewpoint.”
Leichter lives in Palo Alto. Grzan said asking a respected city attorney to recommend candidates would be more effective than having a professional recruiter do the job.
“They may not really understand what is needed,” he said.
Councilman Larry Carr said he also is going to wait to decide.
“I’ll be curious to hear my colleagues’ and the city manager’s thoughts on hiring (city attorney services),” Carr said.
In an earlier separation agreement, made in September 2004, the city paid Leichter $25,000 and her attorney $15,000 resulting from public allegations that Leichter and City Manager Ed Tewes were having an affair, which they both strongly deny.
The city attorney’s office this fiscal year is budgeted at $566,191, including $202,792 for salaries and $250,000 for outside counsel hired for a particular expertise such as land use or the city’s attempts to reclaim perchlorate treatment costs from Olin Corp.
Leichter’s annual salary was $147,118 plus $400 a month car allowance and other benefits.
The cost per month for a firm to provide general municipal law services is estimated at $20,000, or $240,000 a year.
The law firm of Jorgenson, Siegel, McClure and Flegel has been filling in as acting city attorney during the many weeks Leichter was on paid leave since early March and, previously, when a September 2004 settlement agreement gave her an additional seven weeks of vacation through December 2004.
Council approved a new contract for an additional $37,000 on April 20. Legal fees and costs for the firm for January through March reached $27,000.
Jorgenson, Siegel is the firm that sent Leichter to fill in when Baum resigned from the city. Leichter was hired as full time attorney in September 2000.
Tate said Bill McClure and Dan K. Siegel are making arrangements to be available enough hours to answer legal questions from city staff and, possibly, from the public.
“And the public can always call the City Clerk’s office or one of us (councilmen) if they don’t hear back quickly enough,” he said.
In other action Wednesday the council will:
n See the new set of drawings for the library, first revealed to the Library Commission on Monday.
n Decide how to divide available funds between IDI, the group that produces two days of July Fourth festivities, and the Mushroom Mardi Gras, forced by construction of a recreation center, to move downtown and give up entrance fees.
n Consider adjusting development fees in the community development (planning) department.
City Council and/or the Redevelopment Agency meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.morganhill.ca.gov or 779-7271. Meetings are broadcast live on cable access channel 17.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@*************es.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
