The city council voted 3-1 Monday to approve a contract agreement with law firm L&G – which has largely represented agriculture and development interests in the city and county – to provide city attorney services for one year.
Council members chose the firm over five other law firms that submitted proposals for an agreement.
The change comes after former City Attorney Stephanie Atigh left her position in December 2012. She was replaced by interim, contracted City Attorney Deborah Mall, who will be leaving the position at the start of 2014.
“I was one of the first councilmen to support a contract attorney,” said Councilman Robert Scattini. “We’re saving a ton of money.”
Residents were not as convinced the move would save money.
“That doesn’t seem like a good deal for me. It just seems excessive,” said Hollister resident Carol Lenoir, who opposed the contract. She pointed to a price point in the agreement for $8,800 a month for 15 hours of work a week.
“I don’t want us to run the risk of spending more than we need,” said Councilman Victor Gomez, who supported it and added he was initially skeptical of the agreement but eventually endorsed the idea.
He pointed out that the city had been paying $20,000 a month for a city attorney before, calling the $8,800 figure a “significant change.”
A potential issue that arose during the meeting is a “conflict of interest” with L&G representing both the city and other potential clients with local business interests. For instance, L&G has represented developer DMB on the shelved El Rancho San Benito project. Council members who supported the agreement said L&G had agreed to be transparent about any potential conflicts.
“I don’t take those matters lightly. When it comes to conflict of interest, whether it’s clear or not clear, we need to be sure of that,” Gomez said. “If the conflict is there, let’s just get it over with and get it off the table. Bring in an in-house attorney.”
Councilman Ray Friend, who voted against the agreement, said he hoped the deal would save the city money. And if it does, he said, he would throw a pizza party.
He also said it was impossible for a local firm such as L&G to not have potential conflicts of interest because the city is so small.
“I don’t know how we could have went to a local attorney’s company without that perception coming up every now and then (of a conflict),” he said. “There’s no way this is going to cost us less money.”
Friend also expressed frustration that the council was not notified of the decision – of the committee overseeing the attorney selection – before voting on it.
Velazquez contended the city will save more than $120,000.
“We addressed the issues of conflicts,” Velazquez said. “We’re going to be holding them to a high standard and we expect that. If it doesn’t happen, then we’ll have another attorney.”
In other matters:
• The city approved a resolution to fund a full-time code enforcement officer. In October, the city had agreed to proactively enforce code matters, currently done part time by Airport Manager Mike Chambless. It means that if the officer sees a violation, he can address it immediately instead of waiting for a resident to complain. In 2004, the council had voted to make any enforcement of the code reliant on complaints.
• The city approved a resolution authorizing a new school resource officer for the Hollister School District. The decision was met with cheers from the audience Monday, as school officials and members of the public expressed approval for a new officer, especially in light of the public safety issues facing schools in recent years.
• The council green-lighted a plan for the city to partner with the Hollister Downtown Association to manage the 2014 Hollister Motorcycle Rally. The rally, canceled in 2008 due to security costs, was revived in 2013 and was largely seen as a success, bringing in over $140,000 in revenue for the city.
• The council waived a public assembly permit fee of $100 for the American Legion, which now co-manages the downtown Veterans Memorial Building with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. City staff had recommended that the council deny the request, saying it would set a bad precedent for other nonprofits who pay the fee in the city. The council approved the transfer to the veterans from the city in October and agreed to pay $80,000 a year to the veterans for building maintenance costs. Commander Joe Love of the American Legion said that while the $100 was a “nominal fee,” another $100 is something the group can use.
