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Neptune Beach hears three city‑attorney finalists; council to decide at special meeting
Summary
The council interviewed three finalists for Neptune Beach city attorney — the Bose Law Firm (Wade Bose and Paul Waters), Ian Brown and Clayton Knowles — focusing on local availability, conflicts and billing models; council will vote at a special budget meeting later this week.
Neptune Beach City Council heard presentations from three finalists for the city attorney role on Aug. 19 and will take up a hiring vote at a special meeting tied to the budget process.
Wade Bose of the Bose Law Firm described a fixed‑fee model his firm uses for municipal clients, saying it encourages open access for elected officials and staff and can cover litigation under the flat fee in the long run. "We uniformly represent our local governments on a fixed fee basis, including litigation," Bose said, and introduced Paul Waters as the attorney likely to attend day‑to‑day council meetings.
Paul Waters answered council questions about his St. Augustine residence (about 45 minutes away) and stressed his daily availability by phone and his office's team capacity if he were unavailable. He recounted litigation experience that included a fertilizer‑ordinance victory he argued in a district court of appeal.
Ian Brown, a Jacksonville‑area attorney with planning commission and special magistrate experience, emphasized local ties, planning and land‑use expertise and a willingness to seek Florida Bar certification in city, county and local government law. He said he would avoid conflicts by not practicing in Neptune Beach and said he would mirror the current compensation if selected.
Clayton Knowles, a one‑attorney practice from Tallahassee, stressed independence from local politics and offered his father as backup; councilors pressed him on travel, staffing and fee plans. Knowles told members he would be available by phone and willing to travel for in‑person meetings when necessary.
Mayor Brown said the council will vote at a special budget meeting on Wednesday. Councilors focused their questions on responsiveness, local presence and conflict management — practical concerns that weighed as heavily as legal qualifications in the discussion.
Provenance: Wade Bose presentation began at SEG 301; Paul Waters Q&A spanned SEG 527–SEG 575; Ian Brown presentation began at SEG 716; Clayton Knowles presentation began at SEG 1140 and the council scheduled a vote for the upcoming special meeting (SEG 425–SEG 436 and SEG 1350).
