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Council limits individual access to city attorney to 24 hours per year after debate on legal costs
Summary
After extended debate about legal bills and department budget lines, the council approved a policy limiting the number of billable attorney hours a council member can individually authorize to 24 hours per fiscal year; exceptions require council approval.
The La Marque City Council voted to limit each elected official's unsupervised access to the city attorney's billable services to 24 hours per fiscal year.
The council discussion stemmed from staff reports showing billings for individual contacts with the city attorney and concern from several council members about uneven usage and the professional services budget. Council members asked for consistent historical line‑iteming of legal expenses and clearer public reporting. City attorney counsel explained that billing statements can include privileged information and that detailed bills are often redacted before public release.
Council members debated alternative approaches including a 20‑hour cap requested by one member and a councilwide professional‑services allotment idea that would fund some hours at the council level. After discussion the council split the difference and adopted a 24‑hour annual cap per councilmember; council may vote to authorize additional hours for a member when a demonstrated need is placed on a public agenda.
The council also directed staff to consolidate and present legal expenses, including outside counsel payments, in an upcoming financial report to help the council and public monitor legal spending and avoid duplicate billing.
