Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-25-2000 Meeting I I I LAW STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE COMMITTEE ROOM - May 25, 2000 4:00 p.m. PRESENT: B. Young, Mayor, L. Beard, Chairman, W. Mays, S. Shepard, M. Williams members, J. Wall, Attorney. ALSO PRESENT: L. Bonner, Clerk of Commission, S. Cooper, Augusta Chronicle. Overview from Subcommittee Chairman. As we all know we've been working on this for some time and it's about time to come to a conclusion as to what we will present to the other Commissioners. We've had a number of ideas presented to us from the committee members. We've also had Ms. Sumner from Atlanta come and explain some things to us. So I think we have a good overview of what we have and what we're looking for. I hope that as we leave this meeting today, we can all be in agreement on what we're going to have. Whether we will have in-house counselor a mixture of the two or whether it will be outside counsel. I've talked to Commissioner Shepard and he has agreed to make a presentation on what he thinks it should be. Presentation from Commissioner Shepard. Commissioner Shepard makes a proposal for a hybrid model law department. Commissioner Shepard presented a hybrid model for the. ~reation of the proposed Law Department to consist of an outside counsel that would be retained on the same basis as the current City/County Attorney and the addition of a senior and junior staff attorney with the City/County Attorney heading the Department. Mr. Beard: Commissioner Shepard I really want to thank you for bringing this forward to the committee. I think you've done an excellent job in your research. I would like to open it up for discussion. What do you think about the presentation and where do want to go from this point on. Keep in mind that we want to make a recommendation in July. After further discussion, Discuss recommendation(s) of proposed Legal Department for presentation to the full Commission. Mr. Beard: I think we're at a point now where we need to decide what we want to do. We have some options because of this proposal from Steve. Ifwe're going in that direction this will need a lot of massaging. If we're going in another direction we need to get busy on that. I would like for us to come to a conclusion as a committee today. I'm going to ask the question do we want the hybrid effect here or do we want a staff lawyer period without the hybrid effect. We have to obey the law and that is to hire an in house counsel. \Ve can do the hybrid effect which would put us in compliance with the bill. Mr. Shepard: I would like to move that we adopt in concept the hybrid model. That we recommend to the full body that we proceed into a hybrid model with a I combination of outside counsel which serves at our pleasure and two staff attorneys. Mr. Beard: I thought if we settle on the hybrid effect then what do you think to the other members of the committee of having someone come in say Ms. Sumner or whoever neutral, putting this thing together with a couple of alternatives something similar to what Steve has presented to us today something along the line of what Commissioner Williams has talked about. Then I thought that we would take those for our presentation to the full commission sometime in July and let them have their input into some alternative but have gone a little further than throwing the hybrid to them put have some alternatives there and let them choose. Mr. Shepard: I don't have a problem with you forwarding this if we pass it to Ms. Sumner and then if she is interested in consulting further you can negotiate. Mr. Mays: Second. Motion carries unanimously. With no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned. Lena J. Bonner I Clerk of Commission Ibb I AGENDA LAW STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE COMMITTEE ROOM May 25. 2000 4:00 P.NL 1. Overview from Subcommittee Chairman. II. Presentation from Commissioner Steve Shepard. III. Discuss recommendation( s) of proposed Legal Department for presentation to the full Commission. IV. Other business.