Committee hears city attorney staffing and litigation-cost analysis, requests quarterly updates

The Budget and Finance Committee heard a report from the City Attorney’s Office on a staffing replacement plan and analysis of litigation costs, then voted to accept the report as informational and to request quarterly updates on staffing levels, outside counsel costs and litigation expenses.

A representative of the City Attorney’s Office said the report aimed to reflect current caseloads and staff capacity and to identify where outside counsel is used most. The representative noted the office’s particular shortage in litigation staff and said the office is “trying to do more with less” while prioritizing filling vacancies. The report identified approximately 97 positions in the office’s vacancy pool that the office is trying to fill.

Committee members questioned how much of the city’s civil litigation might be handled through county insurance pools or other forms of pooled coverage and asked staff to explore cost-benefit comparisons. The City Attorney’s Office said some categories — particularly traffic-accident claims and certain infrastructure claims — may be more amenable to pooled insurance, while other categories (for example, certain police-related litigation) are not directly comparable because different legal constraints and state law limits apply to county or state insurance arrangements.

After discussion, the committee voted to receive the report for informational purposes and instructed the City Attorney’s Office to return quarterly with updates on staffing, external counsel expenditures and litigation-cost trends for the coming fiscal year. The roll call was recorded as 4–0 in favor (one member absent).

The report will be used by the committee to monitor legal-service needs and to evaluate whether additional positions or alternative insurance arrangements are needed in future budget cycles.