Hamilton County board hires outside counsel, approves $59 million bond consolidation and multiple consent items

At its Oct. 2 meeting, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners approved resolutions to hire outside legal counsel for the prosecutor’s office, consolidated bond financing tied to the county’s Central Campus acquisition, and a consent agenda of administrative items.

The board voted unanimously to retain outside counsel at the prosecutor’s recommendation to avoid conflicts in two matters. The first firm, Schroeder Mondrell Barbier & Powers, was hired to investigate employment-related claims at the River City Correctional Center; the administration said the firm’s top hourly rate is $250 and it provided a not-to-exceed estimate of $10,000 for that matter. The second outside firm, Montgomery Johnson (listed on the agenda as recommended by the prosecutor), will assist in a case involving repeated filings by a litigant the prosecutor seeks to have declared a vexatious litigator; county staff estimated…