Rye City Council Debates Proposed Changes to Legal Department

Rye's former mayor John Carey and Councilman Joe Sack's proposal to restructure the city's legal department received criticism at Wednesday's City Council meeting, as some council members argued that reducing the use of costly outside lawyers may not be in the city's best interest.

Carey and Sack presented a report last month that outlined ways the city could save money on legal costs. Their recommendations included hiring both a part-time Corporation Counsel and Deputy Corporation Counsel to handle most of the city's litigation, limiting the use of outside counsel who typically charge around $315 an hour or more, ensuring the Corporation Counsel and Deputy do not work at the same firm in order to avoid conflicts of interest, and establishing an approved list of outside attorneys.

Carey said that in the event the city needs to hire outside counsel, it should negotiate with firms to pay a price per job rather than an hourly rate. Because of the current economic climate, more lawyers are willing to negotiate their rates, Carey said.

"What we are urging is that you save a lot of money," Carey said. "There are plenty of lawyers around hungry for work."

The city currently has one lawyer serving as its in-house counsel. Kristin Wilson has served as the city's interim Corporation Counsel since January, after Kevin Plunkett, who was being paid $65,000 a year, left the position to become Deputy Westchester County Executive.

Under Carey and Sack's proposal, the city would add a Deputy Corporation Counsel to help with legal matters. Both in-house counsel positions would be part-time and would pay at least $150,000 a year combined.

Some council members questioned parts of the proposal.

Council member Catherine Parker said having two different lawyers advising the city could cause conflict if their advice differs.

"We need our legal expertise to be unified," she said. "You're creating a situation where there is competition."

Parker also questioned the cost savings to the city, saying that hiring another attorney to represent the city would be an added expense even if the city saved a significant sum from reducing its use of outside counsel.

"I don't think the savings are going to be as significant as you say," Parker said.

Carey responded by saying his proposal would reduce the city's legal costs by 30 percent.

Council member Paula Gamache said several parts of the proposal were too restrictive, such as ensuring that the city's in-house attorneys do not work at the same firm or have any conflicts of interests— a recommendation included in the proposal because former Corporation Counsel Kevin Plunkett had to remove himself from a legal matter because of a professional relationship with one of the parties involved.

"My concern is that we have the most flexibility to do what's right for the city," Gamache said. 

Gamache also said, though the city should try to cut costs, it sometimes may be better represented by an outside firm.

"I am all for saving money, but what we want to do is get the best people for the job," Gamache said. "It's our fiduciary responsibility to represent the city."

Mayor Doug French said the city's litigation costs need to be more tightly controlled, but that the Council needs more time to review the proposal because restructuring the legal department will have lasting consequences on how the city operates in legal matters.