Independence Township Supervisor Dave Wagner asked the township board for $30,000 more for the legal budget this year, but the board denied his request.
According to Wagner, at the end of June the township spent $141,000 out of a $230,000 budget.
‘If we keep on the same track we will be at $282,000,? said Wagner.
Mike Wallace expressed his concern that the board might be acting without sufficient information due to budget mishaps in the past. Wallace asked Wagner if there had been any study done of why the board needed more money.
‘Is it because we are paying a higher hourly rate? Is it because we now have more services that the township needed? Or is this a result by improper billing by the board??
Wagner responded by saying part of it could be the 30-percent rate increase over what they were paying previously. As far as ‘improper billing,? Wagner couldn’t speak to that.
Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen said she would like to have further information because the board does not know what this is based on.
Wagner said it was based on what the township has spent.
Treasurer Jim Wenger agreed with VanderVeen for the need for documentation. He said he would like to know the cycles of which quarters the legal gets billed.
‘I don’t have a problem adjusting it, I just need to have detail of it,? he said.
Trustee Charles Dunn wasn’t sure if Wagner could provide the board with any information. He said legal fees are incurred as issues arise.
‘Budgeting for legal as an attorney is very, very difficult,? said Dunn.
Dunn said just because the township increases the budget, it doesn’t mean that the money will be spent; the supervisor just wants it there. However, Dunn said he would not approve an adjustment at this time because he would like to see a procedure put in place how the money will be spent, who determines what will be taken out of it, and who will be reviewing the bills.
Trustee Dan Kelly said he didn’t see a reason to add $30,000 because the township was already below budget – the money could end up spent. He also thought the 30 percent pay increase had already been added to the budget because the township knew they had new lawyers. Financial Director Susan Hendricks could not confirm.
‘At this point there really is no reason to adjust the budget, we’re still $90,000 less than what we have already budgeted,? said Kelly.
Trustee Dan Travis said the township is dealing with three contiguous terminations.
‘We have all these things compounding with the duplication of attorneys on carry over business. It isn’t any wonder that we might be nibbling at that (the budget), but were still on the good side,? he said.
Travis said that he liked both Dunn’s and VanderVeen’s idea of a case-by-case billing.
‘I do think that it’s important that this board have a document before they make a budget adjustment for anything,? said Travis.
Wallace said from what he understands these things are broken down by matter. And it is possible to determine from existing bills whether the projected increase in the budget is a result of more work, as Travis had stated.
‘I didn’t think I needed that much detail. It’s on Vadim, it shows exactly what we have spent for the year you can kind of forecast that out With the budget coming out I thought it was the appropriate thing to do at this time, but it’s obvious that the board wants to see some other action taken,? said Wagner.
Dunn ended the discussion with a final comment.
‘Controlling legal fees is our problem, it’s not our attorneys, and it’s not anybody else’s. We have to control and have clear understanding of why we’re using attorneys, what we’re using them for and the expense is in our grasp. It’s not somebody else’s responsibility? this is about us getting a hold on matters and how we are assigning matters so we can get a better hold on it,? said Dunn.