Independence City Council approves arrangements with two law firms - cleveland.com
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – Independence City Council unanimously approved arrangements with a pair of law firms at the Tuesday, Jan. 11 regular meeting.
The first vote involved increasing hourly pay for attorneys from Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, which operates in nine markets, including Greater Cleveland. Greg O’Brien, the city’s law director, will now earn $275 an hour, a $15 bump, and other attorneys from the organization will see an increase from $250 to $265 per hour. The pay for paralegals moved from $170 to $185 per hour.
The firm, which has represented Independence since the 1960s, boasts a number of specialized lawyers who have recently offered counsel on tax law, environmental issues, labor relations, tax increment financing and more.
O’Brien pointed out that the attorneys often make two to three times as much, though the city has earned a bit of special consideration after years of representation.
“I feel, candidly, a personal obligation since I believe the City of Independence is the longest serving client of the Cleveland office,” said O’Brien.
In addition to the efforts of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, the city retained the services of attorneys at Cleveland-based Mansour Gavin Tuesday evening. The firm will focus on economic development issues. The city plans to evaluate the success of the partnership in a year.
“The marketplace, the lead economic development issues, the strategy and limitation is becoming much more complex and competitive,” noted Mayor Greg Kurtz.
Council also unanimously approved the installation of GPS tracking equipment on all service department vehicles at an annual cost not to exceed $18,000. The devices will gauge fuel consumption and winter road salt use while also keeping track of vehicle inspection reports and alerting the department to maintenance issues. In addition, the equipment will analyze the efficiency of routes and record possible incidents via forward-facing cameras. Council will revisit the program after one full year to decide whether the benefits outweigh the cost.
Fuel for service department vehicles will be provided by Wooster-based Ports Petroleum in 2022, thanks to another unanimous vote by council. A northern Indiana company came in with the lowest overall bid on diesel and unleaded gas, though the minimum required delivery was 7,500 gallons. The service department’s 6,000-gallon tank made the decision a no-brainer.
Council also unanimously approved a contract with Johnson Controls, an international firm focusing on systems maintenance and operations, to test and maintain fire alarms, sprinklers and related devices in various city buildings at a total cost not to exceed $15,000 per year.
Council again unanimously approved Johnson Controls to track technical systems, including things like HVAC units and lighting, in city buildings. The maximum annual expenditure was set at $22,000, which includes parts for repairs.
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source: https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/01/independence-city-council-approves-arrangements-with-two-law-firms.html
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