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Thursday, April 27, 2006
Ind. Gov't. - More on attorney for Lake Station city clerk - add Merrillville
Recalling these ILB entries from March 5th and April 7th, on the efforts of the Lake Station Clerk-Treasurer to obtain money for legal fees, today's Gary Post-Tribune has a story by Tom Wyatt about a similar effort by the Merrillville Clerk-Treasurer:
MERRILLVILLE — Town leaders said the clerk-treasurer is more than welcome to hire her own lawyer, but the money will have to come from her budget.The Town Council on Tuesday quietly denied approval of one line of the accounts payable voucher. And that one line was for $3,187.50 worth of special legal counsel provided by Munster law firm Pinkerton and Friedman to Clerk-Treasurer Rose Ann Antich-Carr.
Antich-Carr, who took over as Merrillville clerk-treasurer in November when John Petalas left to become county treasurer, hired the legal services of Jeffrey Gunning of Pinkerton and Friedman earlier this year to help transition into the office.
Along with helping Antich-Carr prepare for her first but regular visit from the State Board of Accounts, Gunning was charged with creating an equipment and telephone policy for employees of the clerk-treasurer’s office. * * *
Indiana Code specifically allows for a municipality’s clerk-treasurer to hire its own legal counsel. Town leaders, though, insist the money for such counsel must come out of the clerk-treasurer’s budget.
“We budget only so much,” Town Council President Richard Hardaway said. “We can’t afford it.”
Gunning said the Town Council can use whatever wording it likes, but maintains the town must allocate the money to Antich-Carr’s office through whatever permissible means it deems best.
“I suspect the council is acting in a fashion they believe is wise for their budget considerations,” said Gunning, a member of the Merrillville Town Board from 1984 through 1991. “It sounds like it’s just an accounting clarification. But the state law requires there be appropriations approved and allocated for this purpose.”
The town’s regular attorney is Stephen Bower of Merrill-ville law firm Cohen and Thiros. Bower refused to comment on the matter.
Antich-Carr said she chose to hire Gunning because of his experience with municipalities. He was the city of Hobart’s attorney for four years and also worked for Ogden Dunes and Beverly Shores for several years.
Gunning said he doesn’t expect to conduct similar extensive work in the future for Antich-Carr — such as the work that amounted to nearly $3,200 — but anticipates providing guidance to Antich-Carr from time to time.
He cautioned the town not to sit on the matter, considering the fact his law firm is expecting payment for services and that fees for non-payment could be assessed.
“The harsh reality of the law also says ... (the Town Council) may have to dig into their own pockets and pay that,” Gunning said.
Earlier this month, Lake Station Clerk-Treasurer Martha Kroledge threatened to file a lawsuit against the city for violating her right to hire an attorney. The Lake Station City Council said a city ordinance restricts hourly rates for attorneys to $100 an hour. Kroledge’s attorney charges $175 an hour.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 27, 2006 08:39 AM
Posted to Indiana Government