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Debate over cost‑allocation plan raises concerns about access to legal services
Summary
County staff proposed standardizing internal service cost allocations for HR, legal, IT and related overhead; some commissioners warned that tying allocations too closely to usage could create incentives not to seek legal or HR assistance and might conflict with state statutory duties.
County staff proposed updating the allocations policy to allocate internal service costs (HR, legal, IT, property services) based on a consistent and reasonable basis rather than the county's current uneven practice. Scott Park said the aim is transparency: departments would see how allocations are calculated and how to influence them.
Several participants raised concerns that allocating legal services by formula could discourage departments from seeking legal counsel when needed. One meeting participant warned bluntly: "If people feel like I've got only I can only get legal services to a certain point, we're violating state statute," urging caution so statutory legal duties are not impaired. Park and other staff replied that allocations would be based on multi‑year level‑of‑effort averaging and that the proposal is an accounting allocation, not a cap on access to services; staff offered to bring more detailed plans to address departmental concerns before adoption.
