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City attorney tells council caseload rose to about 800 cases; assistant attorney to leave
Summary
City attorney Randall McKeown told the Cedar City Council his office now closes roughly 800 criminal matters a year, driven by more misdemeanors and domestic-violence cases; he said assistant attorney 'Carl' is leaving, citing housing affordability, and staff recruitment is underway.
Randall McKeown, the city attorney, told the Cedar City Council that his office has seen a shift in its criminal caseload and staffing pressures.
"Provide exceptional, ethical, and effective legal counsel to city leadership, defend the city's interest and integrity, and uphold the law to serve our community and balancing risk with the desire to to move forward," McKeown said as he summarized the office's mission and work.
McKeown said the city attorney's office currently ends roughly 800 criminal cases a year, up from the 600–650 range years earlier, a change he attributed in part to fewer traffic infractions and more time-consuming misdemeanors such as assault and domestic-violence prosecutions. He also described how increased camera evidence — dash and body cameras — has expanded the volume of digital material staff must review.
McKeown announced that "Carl," the assistant city attorney, is leaving the office; McKeown said the reason provided to him was housing affordability for the assistant's family. "To put in the bluntest sense, the reason he stated to me he is leaving is he could not get his family here more or less because he can't buy a house like he has in Vegas," McKeown said.
The city attorney said the office has reposted the assistant position and is prepared to look for efficiencies, including shifting some nonlegal tasks to non-attorney staff and exploring software or administrative support to reduce attorneys' time on routine work.
A council member asked whether growth has led to more suits and claims against the city. McKeown said he has not seen a dramatic increase in liability claims beyond normal trends tied to more vehicles and collisions: "Our biggest liability is traffic accidents," he said.
McKeown closed by offering to produce additional statistics about civil work (contracts, ordinances and subdivisions) in future reports and noted recruitment for the assistant position had just opened.
Next steps: McKeown said he would return with any proposed staffing or process changes and that the assistant position posting would remain open for about two weeks.
