Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Attorney Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lincoln council approves resolution to add legal help after debate over workload
Summary
After public comments and staff testimony about heavy legal workload and outside-counsel costs, the Lincoln City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution directing staff to add assistance for the city attorney and to pursue a deputy/in‑house attorney role.
The Lincoln City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution to add assistance for the city attorney after residents and staff described the existing position as overburdened and costly when outsourced.
Public commenter identified in the transcript as Mr. Chapman argued the city attorney role has been “overweighted” and recommended removing code-enforcement duties so the city attorney could focus full time on legal work. Chapman said moving code enforcement elsewhere or assigning it to the assistant city manager would allow the city attorney to be a full-time in-house position rather than split between duties.
City staff responded that many code-enforcement matters require legal filings and court actions, so reassigning the work could reduce efficiency. A city budget officer told the council that bringing an additional in-house attorney would likely reduce outside-counsel spending charged at high hourly rates and that, “within one fiscal year, we will actually experience a significant reduction in some of our legal expenses.”
During discussion residents raised pay-band questions; one attendee asked whether a deputy city attorney could earn “up to 128,000 a year.” Staff replied that final salary would depend on experience and qualifications and that the budget line in the staff report shows anticipated fiscal‑year impact rather than a fixed annual salary.
Councilmember S5 moved to adopt the resolution; a second was recorded, and roll call votes shown in the transcript recorded yes votes from Council members Andrea, Lordson and Joyner and Mayor Carl Skint. The motion carried.
The resolution directs staff to proceed with the personnel action and to report back during the budget process with anticipated savings and a proposed salary determination. The council did not adopt a detailed pay rate in the meeting; staff said they would return with more precise calculations after a first year of operations.
The council then moved on to the next item on the agenda.
