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Kent County Building Authority delegates legal-invoice review to Corporate Counsel; approves contractor invoices
Summary
After objections to approving redacted legal bills, the Authority voted to delegate review and approval of legal invoices to County Corporate Counsel (motion carried, one abstention) and approved several contractor invoices totaling more than $438,000.
The Kent County Building Authority voted March 11 to delegate authority to Kent County Corporate Counsel to review and approve legal invoices for Building Authority projects after a member raised concerns about approving redacted bills.
Sean Fitzgerald objected to the current practice, saying he was "not comfortable approving redacted legal invoices that do not include justification of what is being billed and approved for payment." Jeannine Bolhouse, assistant corporate counsel, explained the Building Authority is a separate legal entity and presented two paths: formally delegate invoice-review authority to Corporate Counsel, or appoint the county’s outside counsel, Varnum, to represent the Building Authority (which would permit unredacted invoices to be shared under joint representation). The Authority voted to delegate review to Corporate Counsel; the motion, moved by Scott Conners and supported by Colin Schiefler, carried with Fitzgerald abstaining.
Following that governance vote, members approved several vendor invoices related to the Medical Examiner and Fuller Administration projects: TowerPinkster for $19,656 (motion by Scott Conners; second by Robert Myers; unanimous), Integra Realty Resources for $5,500 (motion by Robert Myers; second by Scott Conners; carried), Progressive Companies for $154,756.32 (motion by Robert Myers; second by Scott Conners; unanimous), and Erhardt Construction for $258,258.32 (motion by Scott Conners; second by Colin Schiefler; unanimous). Per the delegation motion, several Varnum legal invoices were excluded from Building Authority approval and will be handled by Corporate Counsel.
The delegation vote alters the Authority’s review process for legal billing on BA projects and resolves, for now, how sensitive legal billing information will be handled in future meetings.
