The good news for Carthage taxpayers is that the attorney who council members want to hire to handle the impeachment of Mayor Dan Rife is willing to work at the same fee he charged the much smaller community of Cool Valley, Missouri, when it brought impeachment charges against its mayor in 2023.
The bad news- that fee is $250 an hour.
Nice work if you can get it.
The agenda for Carthage City Council's 6:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting mentions St. Louis attorney Paul Martin's fee at $250 per hour. What it doesn't mention- does that include Martin's mileage and expenses?
The contract, which accompanies this post, indicates it does not.
The emergency ordinance authorizing the city to enter into a contract with Martin is not the only lawyer-related item on the agenda.
Council members indicated last week they would consult three lawyers from a list provided by the Missouri Municipal League to determine Dagnan's status.
Whether they will ask prospective attorneys to define the word "AND" before the hiring does not appear to be included in the request for quotes.
This is what the council wants to know:
Provide a detailed legal opinion on:
• The necessary legal and procedural steps for the removal of the City Administrator.
• Any potential legal risks or considerations the City should consider during the termination process
And if that's not enough lawyers for one meeting, the council is also scheduled to discuss the hiring of a special counsel to assist the city attorney.
Of course, when City Attorney Nate Dally's resignation takes effect at the end of the month, whoever gets hired won't be assisting anybody.
Tuesday's meeting is expected to draw a huge crowd. Two meetings ago, City Council Chambers were packed with supporters of the seven council members who want to impeach the mayor and fire Dagnan. At one point during that meeting, council member Tiffany Cossey turned to the audience and asked, "Just by a show of hands or applause, how many of you think the mayor is holding the city hostage?"
The crowd roared its approval, whooping and hollering.
At the special meeting Wednesday, Cossey did not turn to the crowd for affirmation. The audience for that meeting, mostly city employees who were backing Dagnan and Rife, were looking at her as if she had demanded that Dorothy Gale turn over her little dog and had spirited it away in a basket on the back of a bicycle.
The council will consider another emergency ordinance for the mayor to enter into a contract with Neutron Holdings for scooter rental and two budget resolutions- one for the acceptance of a donation from the city to the Fire Department and the other a supplemental budget amendment to the General Revenue Fund.
Oh, hold it! That budget amendment is also related to the impeachment process.
That the City hereby approves the implementation of a line-item adjustment to the Central Municipal Activities Professional Services line item in the General Revenue Fund for $25,000 to allow for legal services to provide opinions on termination procedures for City Administrator in accordance with the City Charter and City Code and to contract with Special Counsel Paul Martin regarding impeachment of Mayor Rife.
Twenty-five thousand dollars for both the impeachment and the removal of the city administrator?
Someone should tell the council how quickly $250 an hour can add up- two hundred fifty dollars here, two hundred fifty dollars there and pretty soon, you're talking about real money.
***
SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE TURNER REPORT/INSIDE JOPLINThe Joplin Globe charges $428.87 for a one-year subscription. The Turner Report/Inside Joplin does not charge a cent and provides news that never makes it into the Globe.
10 comments:
I always find it interesting that an Attorney will charge $250/Hour, yet the Average Salary of a Teacher in Missouri is Less than $26/Hour. Both have 4-Year Degrees, some Teachers have Masters, which is an additional 2-Years of College, and Attorneys have 3-Years of Law School.
We hire Attorneys to settle Disagreements and we hire Teachers to help Teach and Shape the Minds of our Children and Future Generations, and we even elevate and celebrate Attorneys in Status, while we fail to understand the sacrifices that Teachers make and face daily -
Do we have this Pay-Scale Ass-Backwards in our Society?
Agreed 655, find me one attorney who's really in it to represent you and not the %$. They're in the same bucket of lacking trustworthyness as insurance agents and used car salesman. Many of these so-called law professionals, can be found on any given Friday or Saturday night sharing your case and sipping scotch. Just so you know.
For $250 an hour, hopefully we discover the meaning of the word, 'and'. If this attorney struggles, there are plenty of qualified teachers in Carthage that could do it for much less.
While I mostly agree with 6:55 AM please note attorneys have a Juris Doctorate which is 3 years of education after their undergraduate degree.
Yes, While Attorneys have 3-Additional Years of Law School. Teachers in Missouri Public Schools who have Master's Degrees, was about 59.5% as of 2017-2018, and 6% who had Higher than a Masters Degree.
I still feel that the Compensation Factor is Extremely Lopsided, also Teachers spend 6-7 Hours a Day, Monday thru Friday from Kindergarten thru Senior High with your Children. That is 13-Years of their Life, which is where the majority of their Education, Basic Skills, Knowledge, Information, and Shaping some of their Attitudes.
Attorneys, are only involved with children when they have done something wrong.
Who would you rather see your Children with a Teacher or an Attorney - maybe we need to put more emphasis on supporting and paying our Teachers so we do not have to pay and support the Attorneys!
$250/hr is dirt cheap. Most run $400-$600/hr.
@10:41 You wouldn't be talking about Boss Hogg in Carl Junction, would you? Excuse me, Boss Half-Hogg, now. He's a notorious big mouth, Scotch swiller. Laughing about his clients while smoking a giant Cuban turd.
Finding a good barber is like finding a good lawyer - you gotta go to the same guy. Ronny Chieng
Lawyers are like Insurance Policies, "Necessary Evils", until you need them.
It depends I’ve had awesome teachers and then I’ve complete idiot teachers. The same can be said with lawyers. I prefer to only be around good influence and could care less about what they do for a living
Post a Comment