Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Attorney Appointment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carmel council accepts firm'designated assistant city attorney Mary Wagner; no additional cost to city under current contract
Summary
The council reviewed Mary Wagner's background and approved moving forward with Burke, Williams & Sorensen's designation of Wagner as assistant city attorney, with the firm's contract covering the work so the city faces no additional expense, council members said.
The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council on March 30 received a staff report and accepted the designation of Mary Wagner to serve as assistant city attorney under the city's existing contract with Burke, Williams & Sorensen.
City Attorney (firm representative) Brian (last name not specified in the meeting materials) introduced Mary Wagner and noted she has experience as a city attorney and as an assistant city attorney for other cities. "Mary was the city attorney for the city of South Toledo for 20 years," he said, and added that Wagner currently serves as assistant city attorney for Benicia and Menlo Park and has experience in land use, housing and municipal law.
Council members asked procedural questions about the designation. Brian explained the firm contract with the city gives the firm the authority to designate which attorneys from the firm will provide designated city services, but he said he presented the designation to the council for transparency and to invite council input. On duties, he told the council that the assistant city attorney would "do more than that" of filling in when the city attorney is unavailable: the assistant will assist on many municipal issues and share workload with city administration.
On cost, Brian told the council the change would not increase the city's contract costs because the work must be performed whether by the designated partner or by another attorney at the firm: "There would be no additional expense. The work has to be done. Either I do the work or Mary would do the work." Council members also questioned whether an assistant was needed; Brian identified increased workload for the city's existing assistant city attorney, who now serves as city attorney for several other cities, as the primary reason for adding the firm's designated attorney.
Mary Wagner addressed the council and said she was "very happy to be here" and looked forward to working with the city; she also said she is familiar with municipal conflict-of-interest and Brown Act obligations.
After discussion, council members approved the consent motion that included the designation (consent item 9). The roll call vote was unanimous. No new contract or change in fee schedule was adopted at the meeting.
