Community Corner

Attorney Access a Lengthy Debate for Council

Newly adopted policy requires legal questions to be submitted in writing.

 

Under old business on the agenda for the East Hampton Town Council meeting on Tuesday night, was Town Council Policies.

On the surface, the part concerning attorney access might not have seemed like a big deal. The intent was to establish a process for council members to communicate questions to the town's attorneys in a manner that would make all council members aware of the communication and the subsequent response to it.

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Nothing is as simple as it seems. In a meeting that lasted about 200 minutes, which seems to be the new norm, this one item, actually attorney access was half of one item, took 26 minutes.

The issue of attorney access had been brought up previously, with a draft of the policy being provided to council members at the Jan. 24 meeting.

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That draft, with revisions, sought to require council members to “put in writing any legal questions or opinions they are requesting and submit it to the town manager.”

From there, the town manager would determine if the matter was a time-sensitive issue. If not, each council member would have the opportunity to review the request and include their questions. The town manager would then contact the town attorney and the response would be emailed to all council members when available.

Council members had been required to notify the town manager before contacting the town’s attorneys.

“My question is, ‘What is wrong with the way we do it now?’” council member George Pfaffenbach said. “Why is it necessary to make this change in the first place?”

Chairwoman Sue Weintraub pointed to instances in the past where council members had gone to the town's attorneys without the rest of the council knowing or ever being updated on the result.

“This is my third term,” Weintraub said. “Over the last several years there have been situations where council members have talked directly with our attorneys, which was their right, and we never received summaries of what actually took place, or if we did, sometimes it didn’t seem to be quite what the opinion actually was in all cases.

The oft repeated benefit of the new policy would be saving money on attorney’s fees, prevent council members from asking the same questions and ensuring council members get a summary of the response, thus eliminating any surprises.

Pfaffenbach and Ted Hintz, however, weren’t convinced this was the way to go.

“I look at it as kind of a gag order,” Pfaffenbach said. “It’s going to slow things down. Things could happen before we get an opinion back.”

Hintz said this was the town manager’s responsibility, not the town council’s.

“It’s unfortunate we have to draft a document like this. It really is,” Vice Chair Glenn Suprono said. “But because the system has been abused so many times before, we have to draft this document. … The only thing we’re asking for here is that when any council member goes to our legal department, it should be by above board means and shared with the rest of the council. It’s that simple.”

Said Kyle Dostaler: “I think everything should go through the town manager. It would be appropriate for the town manager to hear all these things and have him determine whether the question is appropriate for the town attorney.”

Further changes to the draft also were discussed, with several being made, including deleting the limit on attorney fees that can accrue for each question.

“I think it’s very cumbersome,” Pfaffenbach said of the policy. “I think it’s impractical. I don’t think it’s workable. I think it’s going to cause delay in getting a legal opinion for the question you have. … I’m totally against it. I won’t support it.”

Pfaffenbach didn’t support it. Nor did Hintz, but the measure passed 4-2 along party lines. Council member Barbara Moore was not present.

Hintz caused a few grumbles out of some in attendance toward the end of the discussion when he said to Weintraub: “You may have been surprised the town manager told us to go see legal counsel. You know, we were just as surprised when you and Mr. Dostaler went in and terminated Anne McKinney.”

There were other brief exchanges between Hintz and Dostaler during the meeting, which seemed a little more tense than the last couple.

In other business, the council has received about 15 resumes from people interested in serving on the high school building committee. The plan now is to arrange a time for the council to meet the candidates, allowing each up to 10 minutes to introduce themselves, share ideas and experience, etc.

“Given the scope of the project, it will be excellent to meet these people,” Weintraub said.

A draft resolution creating the East Hampton High School Building Committee also was passed.


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