Wicomico Mulls Hiring Attorney

SALISBURY –The Wicomico County Council became divided this week over the introduction of re-establishing an Assistant County Attorney, and the position’s associated funding.
This week, County Attorney Edgar Baker brought forward the introduction of a legislative bill for the Wicomico County Council to consider an act to amend the County Classification and Pay Plan by reinserting a job classification in the Department of Law re-establishing a class title and grade.
Baker explained when Maureen Lanigan was promoted to Deputy County Attorney, the position of a Assistant County Attorney was struck instead of being preserved, which he believes was an oversight.
According to Baker, the workload demands, including tight deadlines and complex legal projects, continue to increase, and re-establishing the Assistant County Attorney position will ensure the adequacy of staffing in the department to meet those demands and will provide support for the long-term continuity of the department’s operations.
Baker pointed out, the department is also responsible for collection cases, such as delinquent property taxes, hazmat invoices, dog citations and code enforcement citations. The revenue collected from these cases has averaged over $120,000 per year.
In 2013 to date, the county law department has had 541 legal service requests and document preparation/review compared to 523 in 2012, 342 in 2011, 423 in 2010, and 343 in 2009.
If the County Council were to re-establish an Assistant County Attorney, it would call for a resolution to appropriate from contingency to the Department of Law for $35,000 to fund the position, which is classified as a Grade 20.
“Considering new employees mid-year [fiscal year] has happened but it is very rare,” he said. “We were hoping we could go a little but longer, but after the fiscal year had started we started working on our strategic plan, which included evaluating our work load, and numbers clearly indicate the workload justifies an Assistant Attorney. Frankly, I am not getting any younger. I have not set a specific date but I know I will not be here for another complete term and to leave only Maureen [Deputy Attorney] and a new attorney would be disrespectful to the council.”
Baker thought it was appropriate to approach the matter sooner than later with graduating dates of law school being in December and June and felt it has become a timely issue for an Assistant Attorney to gain experience with the county prior to his retirement.
“Basically, to ensure continuity in the long term, we thought we would bring this issue to you today,” he said.
Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich reminded Baker the council has not seen audits or County Executive Rick Pollitt’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
“I know experience is important, but I really think something like this should be part of our budget process,” Bartkovich said.
Councilman Joe Holloway questioned the implication of hiring an attorney directly out of law school, to which Baker responded it is not likely the salary government offers would attract an attorney with experience as opposed to an attorney right out of school.
“I agree, this should be part of the budget process,” Joe Holloway said.
Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes suggested raising the proposed salary to hire an attorney with municipal experience, which would eliminate the time constraint.
“If we are going to do this we need to do it right,” Sample-Hughes said. “Why not look at it holistically and when we get somebody in here then adjust the salary according to their ability.”
County Council Administrator Matt Creamer interjected this is only the introduction of a Legislative Bill. If the council votes to introduce the bill then comes a public hearing, followed by 60 days before the bill becomes law, and at that point the council will be discussing the budget.