Town’s attorney fees escalating Amid uncertainty about council seat vacancy and a pending lawsuit, a budget amendment is needed to cover mounting legal fees
is for the last four days in April.
by PATTI STOKES SUMMERFIELD – With several weeks left in the fiscal year ending June 30, Summerfield Finance Officer Dee Hall said the town’s attorney fees have already exceeded what was budgeted for FY 2017/18 – and they continue to mount. “Through March 31, we paid $47,225.03 in legal fees,” Hall told the Northwest Observer on May 10. “We budgeted $50,000.” Hall said the town has a $6,500 invoice from Town Attorney William Hill of Frazier, Hill & Fury for the month of April, but she can’t pay it until a budget amendment is approved. Invoices for routine legal representation for May and June are expected over the next several weeks. Additionally, last week the town received an invoice for $4 856.35 from attorney Gray Wilson of Nelson Mullins, who is representing the Town of Summerfield in the lawsuit former town councilman Todd Rotruck filed last month. At $400 per hour, the bill
Under the advice of Wilson, the majority of the town council voted to cancel the regular monthly council meeting scheduled for last Thursday evening, just a few hours before it was to get underway. Hall said she had planned at that meeting to request a budget amendment of $40,000 for additional legal fees to carry the town through June 30. “I have no idea what May and June will be,” Hall said. “I hope $40,000 will cover all the extra legal fees.” Besides the need for additional legal representation stemming from the pending lawsuit, the town attorney has been in higher demand in recent months since the merging of new council members with those remaining on the council after the November election. Summerfield is also unlike many other municipalities in that it allows citizens direct access to its town attorney and pays the legal fees for time spent during those conversations. “If you look at our attorney fees, citizens will call and talk to the attorney and we get the bill,” Hall said. “That also runs up our legal fees. A lot of towns say that no one but the manager can talk directly to the attorney.” As of Wednesday afternoon, a budget amendment to cover additional attorney fees had not been approved because the town council had not yet met in May.
NEWS in brief
Town sets public hearing on development fee STOKESDALE – A presentation on the study of development fees for the Town of Stokesdale’s water system will be made during a public hearing Thursday, May 24, at 7 p.m.
The hearing will be held at Stokesdale Town Hall, 8325 Angel-Pardue Road. There will be a designated period for citizen comments.
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The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996
MAY 17 - 23, 2018
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