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Commissioners discuss county attorney retainer, billing and termination language
Summary
The board debated language in the proposed county attorney contract including a $48,000 retainer, department-head access to the county attorney, billing for hours beyond the retainer, and termination clauses before voting to retain Zach Stewart for 2025.
Scott County commissioners spent substantial meeting time reviewing proposed changes to the county attorney contract, including the annual retainer amount and language governing when departmental officials may separately hire or be charged for legal services.
County Attorney Zach Stewart said he modeled his draft on a predecessor’s contract but adjusted several provisions. Stewart said he set the retainer at $48,000; he said monthly hours typically exceed 10 and that some services should remain within his contractual discretion rather than required as separately billed services. Stewart objected to language that would require him to bill any department head who sought legal advice and to provisions that he said would unduly restrict his professional discretion.
Commissioners discussed department-head access, instances where department heads had sought legal information and concerns about appearing to micromanage or constrain the county attorney’s ethical judgment. Stewart said the draft termination clause includes a 14-day notice to avoid leaving the county without counsel, but that the board can remove him at any time; he opposed overly prescriptive grounds for termination in the contract.
Several commissioners praised Stewart’s work and said they were comfortable with increasing the retainer to align with surrounding counties while asking for targeted edits to the contract language. After discussion, a motion was made and recorded to retain Zach Stewart as county attorney for 2025; commissioners also asked Stewart and staff to circulate a final contract with the agreed edits for review and signature.
No roll-call vote tally appears in the transcript; the meeting record shows the motion carried and staff were asked to return a final written contract.
