Cleveland Heights council authorizes emergency hire of outside legal counsel

Cleveland Heights City Council on June 25 approved on first reading an emergency ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute an engagement letter with a private law firm identified in the ordinance as “Singerman, Mills, Desberg, and Conse” and attorney Stephen L. Byron to serve as independent legal counsel to the council.

The measure, introduced by Councilmember Posch, was adopted as an emergency on a unanimous roll call after a brief discussion about scope, oversight and cost. Councilmembers said the hire is intended to give the council an independent legal resource where the city law department has potential conflicts.

Councilmember Ken Cobb, who spoke at length in support of the ordinance, said the action is needed because of repeated conflicts between the city administration and council. "This action is necessary because our city law department has become increasingly conflicted when representing counsel," Cobb said. He listed prior instances of conflict and said he would prefer not to need the hire, but that "every lawyer I know has confirmed that this action is absolutely necessary."

Cobb also credited the city law department and Bill Hanna, the city law director, saying, "I also wanna make clear I have confidence in our law department and Bill Hanna." He said the outside counsel would be used "as needed" and at the direction of the council president.

Councilmember Larson asked whether the contract would include a cap on hours or a way to track expenditures against the city budget. Councilmembers responded that engagements would be handled on an as-needed basis and that the council president would coordinate requests. The ordinance text, as read into the record, includes language directing that the work be performed at the direction of the council president and notes a certificate of available funds for the engagement of $25,000; a rate is listed in the record as "$3.50" (the transcripted figure appears inconsistent with typical legal billing rates and was not further clarified in the meeting).

The ordinance text specifies the scope of engagement to include drafting legislation and legal memoranda when conflicts exist or may arise with other municipal officials. Speakers said they expected the council to continue to rely primarily on the city law department, with the outside counsel used only for matters involving conflicts.

The council voted on the ordinance after brief additional remarks about the council's authority to make hires under provisions added to the city charter during the 2022 government transition. The ordinance was introduced as "Ordinance No. 134-2025" on first reading and declared immediately effective as an emergency measure. The mayor is authorized to execute the engagement letter; the council president will oversee requests for outside counsel and staff said they will provide periodic updates on expenditures.

No public comment was recorded during the special meeting. The meeting lasted approximately eight minutes and concluded with the unanimous vote to approve the ordinance on first reading.