From a purely operational standpoint, it would make sense for the City of Monroe to have a full-time city attorney on staff, working from City Hall.
Rex Ewald has been the city's attorney since 1988, but he and other staff at the law firm Voegli, Ewald & Bartholf Law Offices in Monroe bill the city by the hour for each project or service. The city pays between $42 and $150 an hour to the firm, depending on who performs the work. Obviously, that work can be costly - at times far more expensive per hour than a salaried city attorney would be.
The workload can vary, but suffice it to say legal services constitute a full-time job. In 2007, Ewald's office did 2,002 hours of work for the city and billed $267,285.24. Not all of that amount was paid by the City of Monroe. Some of it was rebilled to parties, large and small, that benefited from the work. And sometimes other law firms are used, particularly on matters dealing with city employees.
Ewald correctly told the Monroe City Council last week that having an attorney as a city employee would cut down on communication inefficiencies. Conceivably, an in-house attorney could give legal advice that would help the city avoid some legal proceedings.
The question city aldermen must determine is whether having a full-time city attorney would save money while providing satisfactory services. We suspect that it would, even after benefits are added to the compensation package.
If the city is able to improve efficiencies and cut expenditures in legal services by having a full-time city attorney, it ought to do so. That determination ought to be made independent of the city administrator discussion.
A city attorney is not going to be able to devote any significant time to any of the other functions a city administrator might be expected to fulfill - human resources, budgeting, economic development or running the day-to-day operations at City Hall. Those responsibilities are a handful on their own. Aldermen must avoid the temptation to think they'd be able to legitimately combine administrator and attorney positions.
That certainly shouldn't rule out hiring an administrator. In fact, if there are savings realized in having a staff city attorney, they could be applied to the administrator position.
As we have said many times, the City Council must determine what its administrative needs are, then set up a structure tailored to those needs. How do aldermen want city government run? What positions and qualifications would allow city government to run most effectively and efficiently - getting the most bang for the budget buck while promoting growth in the city's economic and tax bases?
Unfortunately, the mayor and council thus far have flailed, and failed, in this process. Instead of determining needs and creating job descriptions to fit them, they've been picking different people and trying to figure out how they would fit. They're on the verge of doing it again, as Ewald is expressing interest an administrator/attorney position.
What the council must set out to do when it resumes this discussion Tuesday is figure out how to best run city government. Having a city attorney on staff may be one step. Having a true city administrator may be another. Once it makes those determinations, any new positions must be filled through a legitimate candidate search. That is the only way to know the city is hiring the best available candidates at the best possible price.
Rex Ewald has been the city's attorney since 1988, but he and other staff at the law firm Voegli, Ewald & Bartholf Law Offices in Monroe bill the city by the hour for each project or service. The city pays between $42 and $150 an hour to the firm, depending on who performs the work. Obviously, that work can be costly - at times far more expensive per hour than a salaried city attorney would be.
The workload can vary, but suffice it to say legal services constitute a full-time job. In 2007, Ewald's office did 2,002 hours of work for the city and billed $267,285.24. Not all of that amount was paid by the City of Monroe. Some of it was rebilled to parties, large and small, that benefited from the work. And sometimes other law firms are used, particularly on matters dealing with city employees.
Ewald correctly told the Monroe City Council last week that having an attorney as a city employee would cut down on communication inefficiencies. Conceivably, an in-house attorney could give legal advice that would help the city avoid some legal proceedings.
The question city aldermen must determine is whether having a full-time city attorney would save money while providing satisfactory services. We suspect that it would, even after benefits are added to the compensation package.
If the city is able to improve efficiencies and cut expenditures in legal services by having a full-time city attorney, it ought to do so. That determination ought to be made independent of the city administrator discussion.
A city attorney is not going to be able to devote any significant time to any of the other functions a city administrator might be expected to fulfill - human resources, budgeting, economic development or running the day-to-day operations at City Hall. Those responsibilities are a handful on their own. Aldermen must avoid the temptation to think they'd be able to legitimately combine administrator and attorney positions.
That certainly shouldn't rule out hiring an administrator. In fact, if there are savings realized in having a staff city attorney, they could be applied to the administrator position.
As we have said many times, the City Council must determine what its administrative needs are, then set up a structure tailored to those needs. How do aldermen want city government run? What positions and qualifications would allow city government to run most effectively and efficiently - getting the most bang for the budget buck while promoting growth in the city's economic and tax bases?
Unfortunately, the mayor and council thus far have flailed, and failed, in this process. Instead of determining needs and creating job descriptions to fit them, they've been picking different people and trying to figure out how they would fit. They're on the verge of doing it again, as Ewald is expressing interest an administrator/attorney position.
What the council must set out to do when it resumes this discussion Tuesday is figure out how to best run city government. Having a city attorney on staff may be one step. Having a true city administrator may be another. Once it makes those determinations, any new positions must be filled through a legitimate candidate search. That is the only way to know the city is hiring the best available candidates at the best possible price.
