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Council debate over $300,000 munitions/legal-fees appropriation highlights diversity and fiscal concerns
Summary
Ordinance 25-142 would appropriate $300,000 for munitions-related legal and administrative costs; Councilman Street criticized the allocation for not benefiting Black lawyers and for fiscal priorities, while the county CFO said funds also cover code-enforcement fees and liens.
Chair Councilman John Cartier presented Ordinance 25-142 to amend the FY2026 operating budget by appropriating $300,000 to the Department of Administration, Office of Finance contractual services line to fund legal, administrative and other expenses incurred through the "munitions" process—the county’s legal process to take real property to sheriff's sale.
Councilman Street opposed the appropriation and raised equity concerns, saying, "I'm not gonna support this tonight because ain't gonna be no black lawyers to benefit from this," and called the $300,000 figure "outrageous" amid what he described as a fiscal crisis. He argued that the Department of Law should publish a diversity report on law firms used before the council needed to sponsor legislation.
Dave Del Grande, the county chief financial officer, responded that the $300,000 is not solely for attorney fees but also covers back taxes, liens and code-enforcement-related costs tied to the munitions process. Chair Cartier emphasized the tool’s scale, stating counties initiated 87 munitions against vacant properties between 2017 and 2025 that resulted in sheriff's sales, and described the process as an important tool to address vacant properties. The committee did not record a final vote on the ordinance at this meeting and moved on after public-comment solicitations returned none.
