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City attorney outlines risk-management costs, building needs and consent-decree work on sewer system
Summary
City Attorney Drew Martin described the structure of the city attorney’s office, said risk-management and state tort funds are large line items in the legal budget, described an unusable office building, and said the office is working with federal regulators and Jackson Water on the sewer consent decree.
City Attorney Drew Martin briefed the council on his office’s budget and operations, highlighting risk-management costs and the city’s role in ongoing sewer and water consent-decree discussions.
Martin said the city attorney’s office includes risk management, prosecution, transactions and litigation divisions and that risk-management items inflate the office budget because they include workers’ compensation and other insurance costs over which the legal office has little discretion. He identified major insurance-related line items: a workers’ compensation allocation of about $2.7 million, an "other insurance" line of roughly $2.4 million, and a state tort claims fund around $2 million. "We don't have liability insurance. Those claims... are paid out of that fund," Martin said, describing how tort claims are handled through the city’s self-insurance pool.
Martin also described real-estate and facilities problems in the office building that houses the legal department, saying the space is "unusable for any practical purpose" and reporting mold, flooding and failing air conditioning. He said the city previously conveyed the building to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority and that discussions continue about relocation; Martin said a lease arrangement is ready if the council provides funding or approval to proceed.
On sewer and water oversight, Martin said the city remains engaged with the Department of Justice and EPA and with outside counsel experienced in similar municipal water consent-decree matters. He said, beginning in October under the consent decree, Jackson Water is required to contribute toward some outside counsel expenses. On litigation volume, Martin said the office is currently defending about 130 active cases.
Martin urged council members to consider that some large legal-line items (state tort claims, insurance) are statutorily required and not discretionary. He said the office is not seeking additional recurring budget increases this year but has worked to fill attorney vacancies and to fund continuing-education and membership needs for staff.
