Residents press Compton council to clarify charter limits on outside legal hires

Residents and speakers at the Compton City Council’s Sept. 23 meeting pressed the council to clarify who may hire outside legal counsel and to guarantee transparency for any contracted legal services.

Public commenter Kareema Bradford opened the topic by reading sections of the city charter that assign “all powers of the city” to the city council and describe the city manager’s duties. Bradford said her 30 years of experience in Compton showed the council — not the city manager — must authorize hiring outside legal staff and asked the council to confirm no legal staff have been contracted without being placed on the public agenda. “Only the council can hire additional legal staff even if it's to assist the city attorney,” Bradford said.

A city staff member responded at the microphone that the earlier assertion was “absolutely incorrect” and stated there had been no violations of the charter, asking that the denial be placed on the record.

Other residents echoed concerns about the distribution of authority. Lynn Boone, who identified herself as a Compton resident, said the charter does not give the city manager the power to run the city and questioned why extra outside legal firms are being paid. “The city manager should not touch our charter,” Boone said.

Fidel Marquez, who identified himself as representing District 1, asked who is responsible for prosecuting charter violations and said he would raise ethics concerns with the district attorney if issues persist.

The council did not take formal action on the issue during the meeting. Staff said earlier comments would be evaluated and that the city attorney’s office remains the office of record for legal matters. The meeting’s public comment and council discussion made clear residents want a formal, public accounting of any outside legal contracts and an explanation of who has authority to hire counsel going forward.