MONROE - Monroe spent more than $100,000 in legal services last year.
But is that a lot for a city of Monroe's size or a real bargain?
There are many factors that determine how much a community ends up paying in legal services. Size does seem to matter when it comes to budgeting for municipal legal fees, but there are more variables than just that: How communities use their municipal attorneys, and hence how much they pay in legal services, depends on the size of the municipality, the complexity of the issues it faces and the services it requires.
A Monroe Times survey of seven cities and villages with populations of about 8,000 to 12,000 in southern and southwestern Wisconsin counties showed communities budget about $90,000 per year for attorney fees, but smaller communities tend to spend that money on an as-needed basis, billed at hourly rates. Larger cities have an attorney on staff.
Monroe's costs for professional legal services in the past seven years have ranged from a high of about $148,000 in 2006 down to $114,000 in 2009.
According to Monroe City Clerk Carol Stamm, 2006 was busy year for the city, with a large-scale retail ordinance written, the storm water utility created, a new restaurant and beer license developed, the Historic Preservation Society gearing up, and a new mayor and a new city administrator who may have needed extra legal advice.
The city budgeted only $60,000 for 2010, because it anticipated hiring a city administrator with legal experience at an annual salary of $90,000 to handle general day-to-day legal duties. The $60,000 for 2010 legal costs would have covered mostly outside legal counsel in labor negotiations. However, the Monroe Common Council in special session Dec. 4, voted 6-4 against offering a contract to City Attorney Rex Ewald to be the city's administrator with legal duties, after a year-long hiring process, and opted to wait until after the April election to restart the search. The council met Monday to discuss how to proceed, and voted 5-4 to hire a professional firm to help with the process.
For the surveyed communities, fees for general legal counsel take up about half of the legal costs. Negotiations, for which cities often use outside legal counsel, use the other half.
With populations under 10,000, Delavan in Walworth County, Monona in Dane County, Portage in Columbia County, and Platteville in Grant County, hire their city attorney on contract and are billed by the hour, paying between $100 and $175 per hour.
Monroe, with a just over 10,000 in population, falls in line with those figures: The city is also billed by its city attorney $156 per hour.
Delavan is charged $100 per hour, and Portage and Platteville are charged $125 per hour. Monona is billed at $175 per hour. All cities pay extra for expenses related to the attorney's work.
Delavan budgeted $89,000 for legal costs for this year, while Monona expects to pay $90,000 and Platteville is anticipating $109,000.
Portage budgets $31,250 for general legal counsel and $62,500 for municipal court attorney costs, for which its city attorney covers both.
Two other cities surveyed, Fort Atkinson and Baraboo, with populations more than 10,000, have on-staff city attorneys, who make an annual salary. Baraboo's current attorney, has been on staff for five years, makes $72,625 annually, covers all the city's legal needs and "is very experienced," said Beany Koschoreck, executive assistant to the mayor, administrator and city attorney.
In Fort Atkinson, the city attorney makes $39,000 annually, and has been the city's attorney since 1982, according to Matt Trebatoski, city clerk.
Wisconsin law does not detail the responsibilities of a municipal attorney. State statutes on the responsibilities of the city attorney show that the attorney shall "conduct all the law business in which the city is interested," and it lists few specific duties.
The average fee charged by private attorneys in Wisconsin rose from $139 per hour in 1998 to $188 per hour in 2008, according to an article by Jack Zemlicka in the Wisconsin Law Journal from Nov. 3, 2008.
But is that a lot for a city of Monroe's size or a real bargain?
There are many factors that determine how much a community ends up paying in legal services. Size does seem to matter when it comes to budgeting for municipal legal fees, but there are more variables than just that: How communities use their municipal attorneys, and hence how much they pay in legal services, depends on the size of the municipality, the complexity of the issues it faces and the services it requires.
A Monroe Times survey of seven cities and villages with populations of about 8,000 to 12,000 in southern and southwestern Wisconsin counties showed communities budget about $90,000 per year for attorney fees, but smaller communities tend to spend that money on an as-needed basis, billed at hourly rates. Larger cities have an attorney on staff.
Monroe's costs for professional legal services in the past seven years have ranged from a high of about $148,000 in 2006 down to $114,000 in 2009.
According to Monroe City Clerk Carol Stamm, 2006 was busy year for the city, with a large-scale retail ordinance written, the storm water utility created, a new restaurant and beer license developed, the Historic Preservation Society gearing up, and a new mayor and a new city administrator who may have needed extra legal advice.
The city budgeted only $60,000 for 2010, because it anticipated hiring a city administrator with legal experience at an annual salary of $90,000 to handle general day-to-day legal duties. The $60,000 for 2010 legal costs would have covered mostly outside legal counsel in labor negotiations. However, the Monroe Common Council in special session Dec. 4, voted 6-4 against offering a contract to City Attorney Rex Ewald to be the city's administrator with legal duties, after a year-long hiring process, and opted to wait until after the April election to restart the search. The council met Monday to discuss how to proceed, and voted 5-4 to hire a professional firm to help with the process.
For the surveyed communities, fees for general legal counsel take up about half of the legal costs. Negotiations, for which cities often use outside legal counsel, use the other half.
With populations under 10,000, Delavan in Walworth County, Monona in Dane County, Portage in Columbia County, and Platteville in Grant County, hire their city attorney on contract and are billed by the hour, paying between $100 and $175 per hour.
Monroe, with a just over 10,000 in population, falls in line with those figures: The city is also billed by its city attorney $156 per hour.
Delavan is charged $100 per hour, and Portage and Platteville are charged $125 per hour. Monona is billed at $175 per hour. All cities pay extra for expenses related to the attorney's work.
Delavan budgeted $89,000 for legal costs for this year, while Monona expects to pay $90,000 and Platteville is anticipating $109,000.
Portage budgets $31,250 for general legal counsel and $62,500 for municipal court attorney costs, for which its city attorney covers both.
Two other cities surveyed, Fort Atkinson and Baraboo, with populations more than 10,000, have on-staff city attorneys, who make an annual salary. Baraboo's current attorney, has been on staff for five years, makes $72,625 annually, covers all the city's legal needs and "is very experienced," said Beany Koschoreck, executive assistant to the mayor, administrator and city attorney.
In Fort Atkinson, the city attorney makes $39,000 annually, and has been the city's attorney since 1982, according to Matt Trebatoski, city clerk.
Wisconsin law does not detail the responsibilities of a municipal attorney. State statutes on the responsibilities of the city attorney show that the attorney shall "conduct all the law business in which the city is interested," and it lists few specific duties.
The average fee charged by private attorneys in Wisconsin rose from $139 per hour in 1998 to $188 per hour in 2008, according to an article by Jack Zemlicka in the Wisconsin Law Journal from Nov. 3, 2008.