Lynette (City Attorney) and the city attorney's office presented operations and a proposed 2026 budget that is slightly lower than 2025 while seeking to preserve staff stability and add a part‑time transactional attorney. Lynette said the office handled transactional assignments valued at over $90 million and that litigation work had saved the city more than $20 million in potential liabilities over the last year.

The office reported processing about 2,700 freedom‑of‑information requests (excluding police and fire) and prosecuting roughly 19,500 traffic violations in municipal court, along with nearly 7,000 environmental court cases and about 1,800 truancy matters. The office told the board that recent salary adjustments made the city more competitive for hiring; the office said it did not lose any attorneys in the past year and has recruited experienced hires from state courts and private practice.

For 2026 the office proposed a $2.9 million budget that reflects personnel adjustments and the elimination of one vacant senior deputy position and one FOIA role; it is also proposing a part‑time transactional attorney to handle contract review and related duties with the potential to expand to full time in a future year. The office set a benchmark goal of turning around 80% of contract reviews within 30 days and emphasized training for recruits and city staff on constitutional and FOIA issues to reduce litigation risk.

Board members asked how personnel reductions would affect capacity; Lynette said case‑management data are used to track workloads and the office believes the proposed staffing and part‑time hire will meet projected needs for 2026. No formal decision was taken during the presentation; the budget proposal will proceed through the city's formal adoption process.