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City attorney briefs council on option to hire independent counsel; council expresses mixed views
Summary
City Attorney Carla Sykes told the Pueblo City Council that hiring an independent attorney for the council would likely require a charter amendment and estimated an annual cost of roughly $312,000 for a part-time retained counsel; council members raised confidentiality, conflict and cost concerns and did not authorize a charter change.
City Attorney Carla Sykes briefed the Pueblo City Council on options for the council to hire its own independent legal counsel and outlined legal, operational and cost implications. Council members asked questions and expressed mixed views; no charter amendment or final direction was adopted during the meeting.
Sykes said the city charter currently vests the authority to hire outside or special counsel with the City Attorney’s Office, and that creating a separate, council-hired attorney who is not under the city-law office would likely require a charter amendment. "If you wanted to do it now, it would…
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