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City Attorney outlines stepped‑up blight litigation, consolidates claims accounting into legal budget
Summary
City Attorney presented a largely flat FY26 proposed budget but described an aggressive new blight litigation strategy, consolidation of claims accounting into the legal budget, and staffing increases to clear backlogs in public records and claims.
City Attorney Eschelon Gibson (presenting as chief of the city attorney’s office) told the Budget Committee on May 13 that the office’s proposed FY26 budget is roughly flat at about $31 million but includes structural accounting changes and expanded litigation capacity.
Gibson said the major change is a consolidation: money previously shown in operating divisions for lawsuits and claims has been moved into the legal division’s accounting lines, creating a larger singular legal budget that centralizes risk exposure. “Prior to this fiscal year … each division carried their exposure … and now we have consolidated that into one group all under legal's budget from an accounting standpoint,” Gibson said.
The office is prioritizing an “aggressive” blight litigation strategy — filing more suits, hiring outside counsel for complex matters, and assigning attorneys to districts — and has already pursued cases that led to injunctions and demolition work, Gibson said. He said the office is bringing a “law firm approach” to city litigation to shorten timelines and increase enforcement pace.
Gibson described increased staffing for claims, public‑records processing and litigation support to reduce backlogs. He said public‑records requests dropped from about 1,200 outstanding requests to roughly 170 after hiring outside counsel and extra staff; claims clearance also outpaced filings during the period he described. The budget request includes modest personnel costs tied to recently added support staff and a materials and supplies increase tied mostly to the consolidation of allocated lawsuit funds from other divisions.
Council members asked for detail on outside counsel spend and claims trends. Gibson and staff said they will provide breakdowns of outside counsel expenditures and multi‑year claims and settlements data for council review. The office also noted recruiting challenges: newly minted private‑sector attorneys can command higher salaries than the city typically offers, complicating hiring for specialized legal roles.
Gibson said the administration has centralized funds so the city can make quicker, more strategic settlement decisions and better track exposure, and he highlighted partnerships with community clinics that assist with neighborhood preservation litigation.
