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Dickinson County approves contract with Salina law firm for county-counsel services
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Summary
After discussion about conflicts and billing thresholds, commissioners voted to approve a contract with CMNL (Salina) naming Aaron Martin as county counselor on an as-needed basis; long-serving county counselor Doug Thompson is retiring at year end.
Dickinson County commissioners voted to accept a legal-services agreement with the Salina-based firm CMNL on Thursday, naming Aaron Martin as the contract county counselor who will provide on-call and routine legal advice.
Commissioners discussed conflict-of-interest safeguards and billing practices before the vote. An attorney representing the firm told the board he would serve as the primary contact and escalate specialized issues to colleagues when necessary. "I would be the primary contact and the person doing most of the legal work," the attorney said during his introduction.
Commissioners said they expected routine contract matters to be handled with limited reimbursable expenses and that larger, potentially costly matters would be reviewed with the county administrator before incurring additional costs. The board noted Doug Thompson, the current county counselor, is retiring at the end of the year; Thompson will continue some of his private practice and involvement with the county's recovery court program.
Outcome: The agreement with CMNL was approved by voice vote. The contract is structured to provide flexible, as-needed counsel to the county going forward.
