Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Job and Family Services director says contracting legal work cost-comparison justified $216,000 contract

Action County Board of Commissioners · April 18, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Peter Stefaniek, director of Ashland County Job and Family Services, told commissioners the department compared hiring in-house counsel with contracting outside legal services and said a negotiated contract with Kick & Gilman for $216,000 was reasonable compared with estimated in-house costs.

Peter Stefaniek, director of the Ashland County Department of Job and Family Services, addressed commissioners on April 23 to explain the department’s approach to legal representation and to respond to social-media criticism.

Stefaniek said the department initially planned to post an in-house attorney position with a base salary of roughly $80,000 and an associated clerical position but paused that plan after evaluating total costs that include employer-paid health insurance and…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans