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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-22-17 Informal o�SOU T11 ti U d W PEACE 1 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK INFORMAL MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL MAY 22, 2017 5:12 P.M. Present: Tim Scott, Regina Williams-Preston, Randy Kelly, Jo M. Broden, Dr. David Varner, Oliver Davis, John Voorde, Gavin Ferlic Absent: Karen White Agenda: Discussion of Council Agenda Update and Announcements MBE/WBE & SBACC Vote Council Attorney selection conditioned upon negotiation and execution of mutually acceptable contract Adjournment Council President Tim Scott called to order the Informal Meeting of the Common Council at 5:12 p.m. with four(4) items on the agenda. The Council went over the agenda for that night's formal Council meeting and detailed the recommendations for each bill from the various committees. Council President Scott then opened the floor to elections for the two (2) open positions on the MBE/WBE Utilization Board. He restated the applicants in the order of filed application. He stated that because there were two (2) open spots, each Council Member had two (2) votes to cast for their top two (2) applicants. The vote count resulted as follows: Abraham Gordillo: 2 Jonathan Gonzalez: 5* Henry Davis Jr.: 3 Meghan Buell: 5* *Mr. Gonzalez and Ms. Buell received the highest amount of votes and will therefore be offered a position on the MBE/WBE Utilization Board. Council President Scott then opened the floor to elections for the one (1) open position for the South Bend Animal Care and Control Commission. Council President Scott notified the Council that Tami Barbour has rescinded her application. He then restated the applicants in the order of 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBendfN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS filed application and stated each Council Member had one (1) vote. The vote count resulted as follows: Linda Zach: 1 Lois Myers: 0 Sue Ushela: 1 Lynne LoSecco: 5* *Ms. LoSecco received the highest amount of votes and will therefore be offered a position on the South Bend Animal Care and Control Commission. Council President Scott then opened the floor to elections for the new Council Attorney, subject to the acceptance, negotiation, and execution of a mutually acceptable contract. Council President Scott stated, It was a longer process than I thought, but it was a very good process. I want to thank the Committee, HR, Aladean, Kareemah and Adriana. I think the three (3) candidates we've come down to are fantastic candidates, each with their own strengths. With that, we will do the same process. Each Council member has one (1) vote and we will vote in order of application filed. The vote count resulted as follows: Diana Bauer: 2 Casey Cox &Kevin Podladski: 0 Bob Palmer: 6* *Mr. Palmer received the highest amount of votes and will therefore be offered to enter into negotiations with the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana to become the next Common Council Attorney. With no other business on the agenda, Council President Scott adjourned the Informal Meeting of the Common Council at 5:21 p.m. Respectfully Subn 'tted, Tim Scott, Council President 2 SOU Tg 8� H v d W PEACE a a 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK COUNCIL RULES MAY 15, 2017 4:33 P.M. Committee Members Present: Tim Scott, Dr. David Varner, Jo M. Broden Committee Members Absent: Karen White Other Council Present: Regina Williams-Preston, John Voorde, Gavin Ferlic, Oliver Davis (late) Other Council Absent: Randy Kelly Others Present: Aladean DeRose, Kareemah Fowler, Kyra Clark Agenda: Interviewing of Finalist Prospective Candidates for the South Bend Common Council Attorney Position Council Discussion Miscellaneous Council President Tim Scott called to order the Council Rules Committee meeting at 4:33 p.m. He stated that this was the second and final round of interviews for the Common Council Attorney and proceeded to give the floor to Councilmember Gavin Ferlic to preside over the interviews. Councilmember Ferlic stated, I will run through the list of questions and will then open the floor to Council members to ask their own questions. Please be aware that because this is an interview, there are certain things that should and should not be said. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler stated, Your packets are in the same order of which the interviews will be held. At 4:30 p.m. we will interview Bob Palmer. At 5:00 p.m. we will interview Dianna Bauer. At 5:30 p.m. we will interview Casey Cox and Kevin Podlaski. Interview for Bob Palmer Councilmember Ferlic stated, I will ask the first round of questions and we will then open the floor to questions from all Council members. We will conclude with any questions that you may have for us. For those Council members who weren't in attendance at the initial meeting, could 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBendIN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR . CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS you please tell us about your work experience and how it has prepared you for the requirements of this position? Bob Palmer answered, I've been a partner of May Oberfell Lorber for twenty-seven (27) years and have worked there for the past thirty-five (35)years. Before that I was Clerk to the Indiana Court of Appeals for one (1) of the judges writing opinions. I think those things have helped me prepare for this type of position in two (2)ways. One (1), I take instructions from judges very well. When I was on the Court of Appeals, I was called for jury duty and the judge knew what I did for a living and he said, "Mr. Palmer, do you think after hearing the evidence and with your experience that you could listen to me instruct you on the law and to apply the law as I tell you?" I replied"Yes, I do that every day of my life," and he said, "Yes, I know Judge Hoffman very well." That was kind of what I learned from him. The second thing is I write a lot and read a lot. My writing, I like to think, is meticulous because writing goes to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court and is there forever. You don't want an opinion coming back criticizing anything you did or saying you make a mistake. I am extremely careful and try to make it as clear and as concise as possible. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Please tell us about the toughest or the most challenging case you handled this year. Mr. Palmer replied, The most difficult case I've had to deal with this year was a habeas corpus case in which I was appointed to represent a prisoner. This is something I do in connection with my position with the Notre Dame Law School. I teach a class at Notre Dame and the short story is I was appointed by the court to represent a prisoner. I usually get three (3) or four (4) of these cases a year. I then assign those to students and supervise the students as they work under my direction. They do the briefs and when it comes time for an oral argument, I supervise that and we then go to court and they do the oral arguments. This is something that is very, very unusual. But I have a case with a convicted child molester. One (1) day he called my office forty-five (45) times. It's difficult to explain to him that I cannot make the court move. The court does what it does on its own. From a personal standpoint, that was the most difficult. From a professional standpoint, I'm actually working on a products liability case. Indiana Products Liability Law was at its highpoint probably back in the 1990s but the statutes haven't changed. It was kind of difficult going back and applying the statutes as I knew them back in the 1990s but now applying them to current day situations. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Can you share with us a recent accomplishment of which you are most proud? Mr. Palmer replied, My daughter just graduated from Indiana University Medical School this past Saturday. Her husband just graduated from Terre Haute. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Tell us about a challenge that you solved in a unique or unusual way, what was the outcome, and were you satisfied with it? Mr. Palmer replied,A problem I solved in a unique way was a child-custody case. One (1) of the local judges did, what I thought to be, a serious wrong to my client. The first question I had when 2 he explained the situation was, "Are you an axe-murderer, or what?How could the judge do this to you?"The unique part of it was, if you know appellate practice, domestic cases are not something the appellate Courts like at all. They are afraid to ever reverse one (1)because that then opens the flood gate to all kinds of domestic cases going up on appeal. I lost in the Court of Appeals but the Supreme Court granted an oral argument and transferred the reverse and gave us the relief we wanted. So it was unique to get the Indiana Supreme Court to grant transfer and reverse the trial court on a domestic case. That is very, very difficult. To do that, I had to go back and trace the history of the language of the case where the original case had a full explanation of what the law was. As each case came down after that,the explanation got shorter and shorter. The newest case was much different from what the cases back in the 70s and 80s said. I had to trace all of those quotations back to show the court what the statute actually meant when it was first interpreted. Councilmember Ferlic asked, If you are selected for this contract, do you anticipate that we would contract with you, Bob Palmer, or would we contract with May Oberfell Lorber? If so, please explain how that would work and if there are any additional support services the firm would provide. Mr. Palmer replied, My original thought would be that you would contract with May Oberfell Lorber. I would be the point person responsible for attending the meetings. But, I would also have the support available to me at the firm like associates, library facilities, and internet, essentially anything I need. That was my initial thought. We could also do it, if it is a benefit to you,just like I do with the Law School. Any payment goes to the Law Firm and I still have the same available services. So from my point of view, it doesn't matter. Whatever would be most convenient to the Council. Either way, I would be the guy. Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to Council members for any additional questions. Councilmember John Voorde asked, Have you personally or has the firm contractually provided these services for any other municipality? Mr. Palmer replied, Yes, we have. Some of the smaller cities like Lakeville and Plymouth. They have been smaller cities. I was not the point person for those interactions. The reason I would be point person for this is because you guys are bigger and are much more demanding regarding what you need and when you need it. With my practice being primarily appellate practice, I'm in the office almost all the time. I may have two (2) court hearings a month so when you need something, I'm available for you. Councilmember Dr. David Varner asked, Out of curiosity,when you got the reversal on that case, what was your question"Are you an axe-murderer or what?"for? Would somebody else in your position have gotten the same result? Mr. Palmer replied, It was my experience saying"How can I make an impact on the court? How can I make them realize that this is wrong?"The way I thought I could do it was going way back and showing how the language had changed, while the law did not. Anyone could do it, but it was me choosing the most unique and best way to do it. 3 Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, When we had interviewed you before, you had talked about transitioning and how it would be good timing to receive this opportunity. Could you address the procedure of the possibility where two (2) of the firms members are on the opposite side of the same petition? Mr. Palmer replied, Obviously, conflicts of interest become an issue when you have a firm our size that represents several different clients in several different capacities. It is not unprecedented for a firm our size to represent municipalities. Faegre Baker Daniels has gotten involved with the City of South Bend and Mishawaka. First thing we would do when we would receive a petitioner is run a conflict check internally. The way we run our conflict checks is a computer program that goes back through and checks every client that the firm has ever done work for. In addition to that, we would send an email out to every single person in our office saying, "Do you know of this person or entity? Do you know of any associates of this person or entity that we would be adverse to?" So that would be the first line on our end. If there would be something that appears to be a conflict of interest after-the-fact, I would come to the Council immediately, say what it is and give my opinion on whether it is a conflict. This Council has always been transparent to the best of its ability. That is also very important to me. If there is an issue, we would discuss it. I would always be willing to step aside for an issue. I did a basic survey of my partners when I was first invited back for a second interview and there were no real conflicts that any of us could remember. I know Marcel Lebbin has represented Dave Matthews on occasion, but Marcel tells me that Dave does almost all of the work himself. The chances of Marcel being in here are very slim. Brett Hummer was in here late one (1)night on a Historical Society hearing. I talked to Brett about that where that would have, in essence, been a conflict seeing that it was an appeal to the Council. But Brett was doing that in the capacity of a Deputy County Attorney and not acting as a member of our firm. So that would not, in my opinion, have created a conflict but if it would have been, in your opinion, Brett said he would have stepped aside and let another Deputy County Attorney handle it. We have discussed it at the firm level and we feel very comfortable that we can do this. We have been representing you for almost six (6) years now and nothing has ever come up. Councilmember Broden followed up, Are you aware that the Council annually renews this position in January? And how do you feel about that? Mr. Palmer replied, Yes I am aware of that and it doesn't bother me because it would give me a chance to prove myself over the first few months that I would be working here. It's not a long- term commitment for you but I do believe it is a long-term commitment for me if you want it. If the end of the year comes and Council believes I am not responsive enough or I don't have the qualities needed for this position, we shake hands and no hard feelings. With no other questions from Councilmembers, Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to questions from Mr. Palmer to the Council. Mr. Palmer asked, Can you give me an idea of what the desired office hours would be? 4 Councilmember Ferlic replied, Certainly attendance for all the Council meetings but outside of that, I think the Council would be open to working with you to see what hours Council members were in their office. Obviously the more hours you're able to be here,the better. Councilmember Dr. Varner stated, For the sake of convenience, I think there should be some sort of schedule to know that you will for sure be in the office at a specific time of the week. Mr. Palmer stated, What prompted my question was my thought of having regular office hours here. My schedule can absorb that. Council President Scott stated, I think the days of traditional office hours is different with technology. We could get a consensus from Council and figure something out. Councilmember Voorde asked, Have you ever dealt with our advocate The Association for Cities and Towns for Legislative Matters? Mr. Palmer replied, I personally have not but there is someone in our firm that has. With no other questions from Mr. Palmer,the Council excused Mr. Palmer from the interview. Interview for Diana Bauer Councilmember Ferlic reminded Ms. Bauer that the interview is public and being recorded. He then stated, I will ask the first round of questions and we will then open the floor to questions from all Council members. We will conclude with any questions that you may have for us. For those Council members who weren't in attendance at the initial meeting, could you please tell us about your work experience and how it has prepared you for the requirements of this position? Diana Bauer stated, I've been in practice for thirty (30) years. I graduated from Valparaiso Law School. After that, I worked for two (2) years as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Federal Magistrate in Fort Wayne. I then joined the law firm in Carson Boxberger in 1989 and practiced there until January of 2015. 1 did, and do, a lot of municipal liability defense work. I do a lot of work representing and defending police officers in civil rights cases. I've also worked on zoning disputes,property disputes, and have offered risk prevention seminars to police forces. I do a lot of research and writing. That is kind of my thing and has been since I was kid. I always thought I would retire from the law firm but the last five (5)years I was there it went through a lot of changes. A lot of the older partners retired and left. The complexion and personalities changed and some of the younger people view things differently than the people that are in their fifties. I decided eventually that I wouldn't work there anymore. I then worked for about nine (9)months with the City of Fort Wayne, doing some insurance defense work. In October 2015 1 then figured I may be able to start doing that myself and finding contracts for myself. I work out of my home but am very portable and mobile with my office as long as I have internet access and a laptop. I've continued to work in the areas I've previously described. I've had quite a few local attorneys get me involved in appellate work. A lot of times small firms or solo practitioners don't want to touch that stuff. They aren't familiar with it. I do a lot of appeals. I have a wealth of knowledge 5 when it comes to municipal law. This type of position would be new and would have a learning curve, but I have a background that would work hand-in-hand with something like this. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Please tell us about the toughest or the most challenging case you handled this year. Ms. Bauer stated, I have a client who is a local business owner in the Angola area. He lives on a lake and has had disputes for years with the town of Clearlake having to do with hooking up into the municipal sewer system. He owns the only three (3)properties not connected to the sewer system. A couple years ago the town of Clearlake sued him saying that he needed to connect. He fought back. His attorney is a family-law attorney and doesn't do appeals so that's how I got involved with it. After the first few filings, I found out the client likes to be very involved with the litigation to the point of re-writing things. He would send me seventy(70)page documents and is very personally invested in the matter. I make sure he knows I appreciate his interest, involvement and insight. When it comes to the legal argument, he doesn't cooperate as much as would be desired. I'm a big believer in the collaborative process but that has been my biggest challenge this year. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Can you share with us a recent accomplishment of which you are most proud? Ms. Bauer stated, As I stated earlier, I thought I would stay at Carson Boxberger and retire there. If you told me ten(10) years ago that I would start my own practice I would have thought you were crazy. I've adapted to that and it's been challenging working from the home. The whole process of developing clients has been something I've wanted to focus on. It's been a year and a half and I'm still practicing as my own law firm and I hadn't thought about it much lately but I would consider that to be an accomplishment. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Tell us about a challenge that you solved in a unique or unusual way, what was the outcome, and were you satisfied with it? Ms. Bauer stated, I don't know if I can come up with a specific example. I sometimes use the term `creative lawyering.' A lot of people that don't deal with lawyers think it's what you see on television and it is not. Being a creative person with a legal background gives me the ability to resolve questions and issues creatively. Some of that is with clients and some of it has been with my family. My folks are old and having four (4) adult siblings, we are all trying to decide how to help our parents and that has been difficult. You just never know. When you're an inquisitive person that enjoys research, it just goes back to the roots of doing what I've been doing since I was a kid. Writing and research has been what I've done and I enjoy doing it. Councilmember Ferlic asked, If you are selected for this contract, do you anticipate that we would contract with you individually and how do you envision working with the Council logistically? In particular,will you have office hours? Will you be able to attend Committee and Council meetings? 6 Ms. Bauer stated, I have a lot of flexibility with my calendar. Any meetings the Council wants me to attend, I can do. Office hours can be considered. I don't mind coming up to South Bend. Councilmember Oliver Davis arrived to the meeting at 5:19 p.m. Mr. Bauer continued, I'm good with time management and will be able to do whatever the Council would ask of me. I would do my best. Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to Council members for any additional questions. Councilmember Broden asked, What could you bring as a sole practitioner to the Council that a firm could not? Also, what would be the back-up plan if you were not available? Ms. Bauer replied, Well hopefully that situation would never arise. I expect to be at every meeting that I am requested to be at. That's a good question regarding the differences between a law firm and a sole practitioner. When I was at the law firm in Fort Wayne, there was a time where we had thirty (3 0) to thirty-five (3 5) lawyers,many of which did municipal liability defense work. So anyone who was assigned to something,there was always someone else as the backup. We can't predict the future but as a sole practitioner, you will always be dealing with me. We will get to know each other,how we work together and I guarantee I will give one hundred and ten percent (110%) of my effort. This would become my top priority. I do have contact with the Fort Wayne City Attorney. She got me involved in the Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association a few years back. I do have resources and contacts that will be a good supplement to my work. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston asked, You had mentioned something about becoming a certified mediator in the State of Indiana, could you tell us a little bit more about what that means and how you might apply that in your practice? Ms. Bauer replied, Any lawyer can serve as mediator. Our judges in Indiana encourage people to resolve their case rather than going through the whole process that ends up in a trial. I think the statistic is approximately eighty-five to ninety percent(85%-90%) of cases end up being settled through mediation. To be a certified mediator in Indiana you have to take a week long seminar which I took last summer. Then you're on the certified mediator list in the State of Indiana. If someone is looking for a mediator in a particular county,they can look up that list and see what areas of practice that are offered. The training of mediating and the experience one gets develops a lot of skills that are not acquired elsewhere. It's just a different way of looking at problem solving through mediation. I don't know if you are ever in labor discussions with the Police or Fire Departments but that would come into play then. My skills could lend themselves to those types of areas. With no other questions from Councilmembers, Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to questions from Ms. Bauer to the Council. Ms. Bauer asked, Since you had the same person for as long as you did,what do you envision the role of the attorney of the Council to be moving forward? 7 Councilmember Ferlic answered, Very generally,just a really solid representation of the Common Council as a whole and being able to work really well with nine (9)unique individuals. Ms. Bauer asked, How long have each of your served on the Common Council and what is your profession outside of your role as a Council member? The Council members then went around the room and shared how long they have served on the Common Council as well as their alternate occupation. With no other questions from Ms. Bauer,the Council excused Ms. Bauer from the interview. Interview of Casey Cox and Kevin Podlaski Councilmember Ferlic reminded Mr. Cox and Mr. Podlaski that the interview is public and being recorded. He then stated, I will ask the first round of questions and we will then open the floor to questions from all Council members. We will conclude with any questions that you may have for us. For those Council members who weren't in attendance at the initial meeting, could you please tell us about your work experience and how it has prepared you for the requirements of this position? Casey Cox replied, We are a general practice law firm named Beers Mallers Backs & Salin LLP. We have four(4) offices. Our main office is out of Fort Wayne but we have offices in La Grange, Warsaw and Syracuse. Our growth is pushing northwest from the Fort Wayne area and so when we saw this opportunity, especially given our deep local government law presence in the firm, we had interest right away. Our firm generally represents a number of local governmental entities including Allen County, La Grange County, the Town of Shipshewana, the Town of Wolcottville,the Town of Freemont and I am personally the City Attorney for the second smallest city in Indiana,the City of Woodburn. We also represent a number of townships, libraries and public entities. Our law firm has twenty-nine (29) or thirty (30) lawyers. I've personally done a lot of work with public entities like libraries and fire departments. I've also done a bit of real estate and business law. Kevin Podladski stated, My experience is in liability and litigation. The last time we were here I spoke of having done work for city public safety officers,primarily prosecution work. Diana Bauer is a former partner of mine from Carson Boxberger. We both did city work. I was the litigator and she wrote briefs for me. Since then she has helped me with several cases at the appellate level and Indiana Supreme Court level matters. Mr. Cox continued, We have a diversity of lawyers in the firm that have handled inquiries from municipal and business clients. We are generally a broad and diverse civil law firm that has a significant focus in municipal and local government. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Please tell us about the toughest or the most challenging case you handled this year. 8 Mr. Podladski replied, There was a case that involved the State of Indiana enforcing consumer advocacy laws against an out-of-state law firm that had hired in-state attorneys to handle its customer clientele off of the internet. That was one of the cases that Dianna worked on for me. We both argued in front of the Indiana Supreme Court. That case involved a lot of implications pertaining to consumer protection matters as well as an overlay of government compliance and mandatory filings and registrations with the State of Indiana. It was very complex on a number of levels and we won at the appellate level but we got overturned at the Supreme Court level. Mr. Cox replied, I had a public entity client who we helped look at their prior health reimbursement arrangement and whether it was going to remain compliant with existing federal law. We determined that that was not the case. So there was a deadline where changes had to be made. These were difficult changes because the changes were going to impact different people in this public entity body, mainly their employees. It was going to help some and hurt some of the employees. So the policy question was up to them, but still difficult in understanding what the impact was going to be to the people that were working for the particular public entity. We found a solution that legally was acceptable and palpable to them, from a policy standpoint as well. While there was an impact, it wasn't as big as it would have been if they were to repeal the whole thing. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Can you share with us a recent accomplishment of which you are most proud? Mr. Podladski replied, I recently became a grandfather. Professionally, I believe arguing in front of the Indiana Supreme Court was a great experience. Mr. Cox replied, Personally, I'm the father of three (3)kids and I just passed my ten(10) year threshold of graduating from law school. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Tell us about a challenge that you solved in a unique or unusual way, what was the outcome, and were you satisfied with it? Mr. Podladski replied, I think some of the circumstances some of my soldiers got themselves in, when I was in the Army, were difficult. We would deploy to nations and we would have incidents with soldiers that resulted in a few becoming involved with local militia. I had to work through diplomatic channels to have them released from prison in Panama. For me,that was a twist on what I would normally do but it had to do with international law. Mr. Cox replied, I had a municipal public entity client who runs utility. They discovered that a large user of this utility was being under-charged. Fortunately there was an ordinance that allowed us to go back at least a year. Maybe it's not unique but the options available were either to go after this person using this ordinance and try to get everything, or create a dialogue with them to achieve a resolution acceptable to both parties. We chose the latter initially,but it lead to a broader discussion of annexation and this particular user being just outside the boundaries of the corporate area. I think it fostered a constructive conversation about the future planning of around that area. It was unique in the sense I was able to advise them on the legal aspects of 9 choosing different paths with different outcomes. At the end of the day, it resulted in a compromise that my clients were very happy with and the user was still happy and appreciative. Mr. Podladski followed up, The case that went to the Indiana Supreme Court had to do with our appealing of the way the statute was written. The statute exempts Indiana attorneys. In this case, it was an out-of-state law firm that hired Indiana attorneys and the State didn't prosecute the Indiana attorneys, rather they prosecuted the out-of-state law firm. So our unique approach gave brevity and context to the situation of what the Supreme Court was doing. Councilmember Ferlic asked, If you are selected for this contract, would the contract be with one (1) of you individually or the law firm as a whole?How do you envision working with the Council logistically? Mr. Podladski replied, I think our intended vision was for the contract to be with the law firm however, primarily there would be one (1) attorney assigned and that would likely be Casey. He has a great deal of experience. We have a couple other attorneys that, if Casey was unable to attend a particular meeting for whatever reason, they have equal experience. Mr. Cox replied, Logistically, Kevin is right, that is what we've talked about with the law firm. Geographically, I split time between Fort Wayne because I live there but I also work out of our Syracuse office which is closer to Warsaw. As we mentioned earlier, the law firm is always looking for opportunities to expand and grow and this would give us the opportunity to take a closer look at South Bend. In my view, the Council should have one (1)primary attorney that any of the Council members can contact on a regular basis. We have enough attorneys to fill in if the primary person is unavailable. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Do you anticipate yourself or someone from your firm being able to attend Council Committee meetings outside of those two (2) designated Mondays? And also, do you anticipate having office hours for Council members? Mr. Cox replied, I would need to make sure of the frequency of the committees and what the expectations were. I don't want to over-promise. As far as office hours, I do think that's something that is acceptable. My thought initially was I would work out of our Syracuse office which is much closer and would then come a few hours before the Council meeting in the evenings and make myself available for Council members to come in. I would want to make sure I get a handle on all of the other committees and the expectations to make sure I don't over- promise. Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to Council members for any additional questions. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, What do you think is the major challenge of a small-size town Council compared to a decent sized city like ours? Mr. Cox replied, We've advised a lot of town councils which are much smaller and also the Mayor of Woodburn actually sits on the council. He is an ex-officio member and I report to him but I also advise the Council. I think your question is great and there being nine (9) Council 10 members here with different constituencies, that means there are nine (9) equal clients that are really one (1)unit. I would ensure that all members are being fairly represented and balancing those relationships is important. That is different than when you have three (3) Council members of a town of five hundred(500) people. Councilmember Dr. Varner asked, There have been times when there has been different terminology from different Council members on the same resolution. Would you be able to help synthesize those things? Mr. Cox replied, Yes, I think you have to be in a position to set a course while setting aside your own policy ideas. If there are instances with competing language, I would be able to do that. I was in the State Legislature for three (3) years and one (1)thing I liked about being a lawyer there was it put me in a position to negotiate what language meant. For instance the use of`shall' is different from using `may.' I was working on a mobile home law and the people in Benford County wanted this piece in the legislation about the rural parts of Indiana and a group from another part was concerned about how that would impact the ability to get rid of mobile home units in the more urban, commercial part of the State. We had big meetings and we were able to hammer that out and suggest language where everyone came together and supported it. Councilmember Dr. Varner followed up, If asked, you would be willing to draft two (2) different ordinances? Mr. Cox replied, As long as the Council members have the ability to introduce that ordinance and they are directing me to do that, then certainly. Councilmember Voorde asked, Have you in the past worked with Clerk Treasurers in any legal capacity? Mr. Cox replied, I work with the Clerk Treasurer all the time. Though my boss is the Mayor, he works very well and closely with the Clerk Treasurer. He is one (1) of the people who runs the city. The way in which I work with him is I will have conversations with the Clerk Treasurer about things going on and then I'll take that and let the Mayor know we had a conversation and talk about what we would like to do. So, the Clerk Treasurer is an information point but then I recognize my authority comes from the Mayor. Similar to here, I think I would take insight from resources of what is going on but my actual direction would come from the Council. Councilmember Broden asked, How do you feel about this position being an annually appointed position? Mr. Cox replied, That is common. Many public entities are moving away from the `lawyer as an employee' to a contract base. I believe most of our agreements are on an annual arrangement right now. I am on an annual arrangement with the City of Woodburn. I know that with a lot of our towns it is the same. It would be customary and as a service, you can hire the service out under IC-522. But, it makes sense that it would be one (1) so you can review that service and decide to make changes if that is necessary. So the fact that it is June, it doesn't weigh on me in particular one (1) way or the other. 11 Councilmember Broden gave context to filing deadlines and suggested the days on which she would prefer the attorney availability would be. Mr. Cox asked, What sort of hours did the previous attorney keep? Council President Scott stated, She was usually here around thirty-five (35) hours a week, it was basically a nine (9) to five (5) for her. That doesn't have to be the case because Council isn't here all the time and we could take advantage of technology, as long as it is effective and efficient communication. Councilmember Davis mentioned, We could also meet offsite. Mr. Podladski asked, What form of compensation would you be looking at? A flat fee, hourly or a combination? Councilmember Ferlic replied, We were expecting a contract for a flat fee for services for the year. Councilmember Dr. Varner added, If we do a flat fee, we probably should stipulate some specific hours. Interim Council Attorney Aladean DeRose gave a brief description of the role and of the time commitment required. Mr. Podladski asked, Have there been any matters involving Council litigation? Interim Council Attorney DeRose explained, There were only two (2). They were both First Amendment issues. Most of the litigation is handled by the City Administration. Occasionally the Council is sued. We have had one (1) major litigation between the Council and the City and that is a very rare occurrence. Both of the cases were issues with the ACLU. There was also one (1) zoning appeal. With no other questions from Mr. Cox and Mr. Podladski, the Council excused Mr. Cox and Mr. Podladski from the interview. With no further business, Council President Scott adjourned the Council Rules Committee 7Res a tfully S ubmitted, ott, Counci�Rr,�j e 12