ADRIAN — The city of Adrian plans to go in a new direction, legally.
City attorney Sarah Osburn is leaving to join a law firm in Lansing. Osborn’s last day is Feb. 14. Osburn has served as the city attorney since 2006, prior to that she served as the assistant city attorney from 2001-06.
During its premeeting Tuesday, city administrator Shane Horn asked the city commission, which makes the final decision, for some direction.
Horn said the city has had an in-house, full-time attorney for the past 10 years. He said that’s been helpful, but he said the city is open to discuss different ways to go forward.
“Are you interested in another full-time attorney in that position or are we interested more into a contractual relationship?” he asked.
One proposal, he said, would have the Lenawee County prosecutor’s office handle criminal prosecutions for the city. Horn said the proposal was still preliminary, but the cost would be based on 50 percent of the average income the city has received from this area for the last three years — at this point $31,000 could go to the prosecutor’s office.
Horn said one detail to be worked out is who would represent the city, legally, on blight-related issues. He said the prosecutor;s office could handle this too, but it could lead to hiring a new person, which could cost more money. The city also would need to find representation for the civil cases as well someone available to meet with city administration at city hall and attend city commission meetings. Horn said the city could seek proposals from private law firms to see what contacting this part out would cost.
He said the city could try this for a year. He said some local firms already have expressed interest. He said it will be important their representation has municipal experience.
Commissioner Allen Heldt said the city should explore contacting the service out rather than seek a full-time attorney. He said many cities similar to Adrian do this and it could save money He said if it doesn’t work out then the city could change it in a year.
Mayor Chuck Jacobson estimated the city’s legal budget is around $185,000. With $31,000 going to a contract for criminal work and another $30,000 going to the civil side, the city could potentially save around $120,000 a year.
Horn cautioned on projecting any savings because there still are unknowns. In 2006, he said the city wanted to go in the direction of a full-time attorney.
Commissioner Brad Watson asked how this change could impact others at city hall, specifically Michelle Dewey, the city’s executive/legal assistant and communications and marketing coordinator. Horn said that remains to be seen. He said some of Dewey’s legal work includes dealing with Freedom of Information Act requests and police body camera footage.
Commissioner Lad Strayer said he hopes a change could free up more time for Dewey to do more on the communications and marketing side for the city.
Osburn, who attended the premeeting, said she is willing to help out in the transition to fill some gaps until things are in place. Horn said because there are some city cases she’s been working for a long time the city will need to address these in the transition.
Police chief Vince Emrick said having the criminal side of things with the prosecutor’s office could streamline some things for his department. At this point, Emrick said, half of the city’s workload goes to the county and other half to the city attorney.
“So if we get a drunk driver who is also a felon in possession of a firearm, we send one charge to Burke — Lenawee County prosecutor Burke Castleberry — and we send one charge to Sarah,” he said of the how the department currently handles its caseload.
He said the proposed change would bring all of the department’s criminal cases under one roof.
Horn said the city will have further discussions with the county prosecutors and will seek proposals from outside law firms. He said he expects to bring a more detailed proposal to the city commission before the end of the month.