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Ojai residents press council over city attorney advice and outside legal costs; some praise staffer Ben Harvey
Summary
At the Feb. 25 Ojai City Council meeting, multiple residents criticized the city attorney's handling of legal matters and rising outside counsel spending and asked the council for accounting; other commenters praised staffer Ben Harvey. The council approved its agenda and adjourned to closed session.
On Feb. 25, residents used the public-comment period at an Ojai City Council meeting to question the city's legal representation and rising outside legal costs, while other speakers offered praise for city staffer Ben Harvey.
Speakers said the city has repeatedly hired outside counsel for matters they believe the city attorney should cover, and asked the council to disclose recent spending on private legal contracts. "My concern is the apparent inability of the current city attorney contract to cover certain situations of law fair, which end up requiring the city to contract out to an outside law firm," resident Bill Miley said. He asked the council for three pieces of information: "1, knowing the total dollar amount of private contract legal opinion since…
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