County supervisors took several long-overdue steps to shut off
the flow of taxpayer money into the pockets of private attorneys
last week.
County supervisors took several long-overdue steps to shut off the flow of taxpayer money into the pockets of private attorneys last week.
Since 2000, San Benito County has shelled out about $3 million to private attorneys to defend itself in cases against former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti alleging corruption, a hostile work environment lawsuit against District Attorney John Sarsfield and the lengthy Sandman mining suit , among others. By comparison, a Yuba County auditor estimated that his county, which has similar-size population, spent “probably $20,000” on outside lawyers in a year.
What was really dismaying about legal costs in prior years was San Benito County’s stark contrast in spending priorities. While the county spent millions on lawyers, it slashed $17,000 from the University of California Cooperative Extension, putting 4-H programs in a pinch, and cut $55,000 from libraries to balance this year’s budget.
But the new Board of Supervisors, realizing that the county is headed for another deficit next year, clamped down on the flow of cash to lawyers. From now on, the unbelievable practice of allowing any department head to hire a lawyer if they have extra cash in their budget will be curtailed. All requests for outside legal assistance must now be cleared through the county counsel’s office.
Another smart step that Interim County Counsel Claude Biddle is taking is to fill a vacant spot in his office with an expert in litigation so the county can handle more lawsuits in-house. There are four lawyers in county counsel office – the same as in the district attorney’s office – and it makes sense to have an expert on staff to better defend the county in court. Finally, the county is looking for less expensive law firms to turn to when it does need outside legal expertise.
Those are slam dunk decisions that are most welcome. Supervisors are making the right moves to put the county on the fiscal straight and narrow and bring more accountability to local government.
San Benito County has an estimated $73 million budget for the next year. With that kind of money comes the responsibility to spend it wisely. Remember, the $3 million lining the pockets of big-time attorneys didn’t belong to administrators, it belonged to the taxpayers of San Benito County.
