20 - HIRING OF PROSECUTOR FOR MUNICIPAL COURT

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Item No. 20 memorandum TO: Mayor & City Council John Godwin, City Manager FROM: Stephanie H. Harris, City Attorney SUBJECT: HIRING OF PROSECUTOR FOR MUNICIPAL COURT DATE: June 22, 2016 BACKGROUND: At the City Council meeting of April 25, 2016, Council appointed me to serve the City in the position of city attorney leaving the assistant city attorney position open. At that time, Council instructed me not to fill the position of assistant city attorney, but expressed understanding that it would be necessary for me to hire, at minimum, a contract prosecutor. I have been covering both positions since my appointment as interim city attorney on January 11, 2016. I have reached an agreement with Zachary Ressler, of the law firm of Ellis & Tidwell in Paris, to undertake these limited prosecutorial duties under terms that will result in substantial savings to the City taking into account the related reduction in salaries in the Legal Department. I am attaching a copy of Mr. Ressler's resume for your reference. He comes to me highly recommended. I believe he is amply qualified for the duties of contract prosecutor. STATUS OF ISSUE: Section 28 of the City Charter allows the city attorney to appoint an assistant city attorney, if deemed necessary, subject to the approval of the City Council. While I do not necessarily believe that a contract prosecutor is an "assistant city attorney" within the meaning of this Charter provision, in an abundance of caution I am presenting this hire for Council approval. BUDGET: For the remainder of this budget year, taking into account the recent reduction in lawyer salaries in the department, there are ample funds available to provide for a prosecutor at $65.00/hour for an average of 10 hours per week. I am asking the Council to budget funds to cover that approximate amount for the 2016 -2017 budget year as well. Again, while this will result in an increase in the outside counsel budget line item, there will be substantial savings in attorney salaries over the 2015 -2016 budget year that will more than accommodate the part-time prosecutor.