Butte County enters into contract with outside law firm over redistricting divide - KRCRTV.COM
OROVILLE, Calif. — In preparation for a potential lawsuit, the Butte County Board of Supervisors voted three to one, during a special meeting, to enter into a contract with a law firm for legal services regarding the county's 2021 redistricting map.
Supervisors Tami Ritter and Debra Lucero were the two no votes, raising concern over the excessive amount the contract could cost the county.
"When we had a contract with outside legal counsel 20 years ago during this process the best estimate that I was given was approximately $240,000," said Ritter. "I just want to make sure we have it on the record. I don’t think we can anticipate that the price of legal representation has gone down."
Ritter went on to say she estimates the cost of legal representation could be at least double the price it was 20 years ago.
County staff says the law firm would be used if a lawsuit is filed, but it could also be used by the county to gain legal opinion regarding the referendum process currently taking place.
"The amount of money that Supervisor Lucero and Supervisor Ritter were talking about would be in a full-fledged lawsuit?" asked Supervisor of District 4, Tod Kimmelshue.
"It's difficult to answer that," answered a county staff member. "I think it’s speculative, they do bill on an hourly basis,"
According to the staff report, the attorney's listed their hourly wages range from $465 to $695.
To try and limit the expenses, county staff said they could analyze as much on their own before bringing their questions up to the attorney.
Kimmelshue then asked if a lawsuit is not filed would the county be out of a lot of money to which a county staff member responded, "it would be minimal."
During the redistricting process, lawsuits have been threatened over claims of gerrymandering and the Fair Maps Act that must be followed when drawing new district lines.
How much the county ends up spending on the law firm will ultimately depend on the nature of the litigation.
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source: https://krcrtv.com/news/local/butte-county-enters-into-contract-with-outside-law-firm-over-redistricting-divide
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