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Law department budgets for more in‑house capacity and $4 million in outside professional services; council seeks detail on litigation and housing enforcement
Summary
The law department's 2025 budget adds staff capacity and maintains a $4 million professional‑services allocation; the director said some of the outside spending covers collective bargaining, complex litigation and technical consultants.
Law Director Mark D. Griffin appeared before the finance committee as the committee reviewed the Department of Law's 2025 proposed budget, which shows an increase in authorized positions and a $4 million contractual professional services line.
Griffin said the department added project coordinators for public records processing and for the police‑accountability team (consent decree work). He identified two additional assistant directors of law slated to support building and housing enforcement; one offer has been made and interviews continue for the other. He told the committee the department is prioritizing larger cases against LLC owners and other property owners that fail to maintain housing stock.
Council members pressed for transparency about the $4 million professional services budget. Griffin said the largest components include outside counsel for collective bargaining and complex litigation, consultancy for landfill work and outside experts used to analyze jail‑call records in claims and wrongful‑incarceration matters. Council members specifically asked for an itemized list of 2024 judgments, damages and claims and for a roster of the law staff assigned to housing and code enforcement cases.
Separately, council members discussed nuisance enforcement and the potential need to strengthen the city's nuisance statutes or enforcement tools so that problem properties can be addressed more quickly and effectively. Griffin and council members said they will follow up with additional materials on staffing, outside counsel usage and judgments paid in 2024.
