[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of DeWitt 1-27-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014.[1]; amended in its entirety 10-23-2023 by L.L. No. 8-2023. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law superseded former Ch. 6, Attorney and Special Counsel, adopted 1-24-2000 by L.L. No. 2-2000.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish the qualifications, duties, methods and compensation for the Attorney to the Town of DeWitt and to establish a procedure for obtaining special counsel. For purposes of this section, the term "Attorney to the Town of DeWitt" shall mean either an individual attorney or law firm in which all of the attorney members meet the qualifications of the Attorney to the Town as hereinafter provided.
A. 
The Attorney to the Town of DeWitt must be duly licensed to practice law in the State of New York; the attorney, or, if a law firm is chosen, the attorney members of the firm, must be residents of the County of Onondaga or a contiguous county.
B. 
The Attorney to the Town of DeWitt shall be chosen by the Town Board, and the selection process for the Attorney to the Town shall be exempt from solicitation of alternative proposals or quotations pursuant to Town Code § 42-8.
The general duties of the Attorney to the Town shall be to act as the legal advisor to the Town Board and all of the offices of the Town. It shall further be the duty of the Attorney to the Town to advise all officers of the Town on legal matters relating to their offices and to be a legal advisor to all department heads in carrying out their official duties; to act as the prosecutor for the Town, upon appointment, for all violations of Town ordinances for which said Attorney to the Town has been authorized by the District Attorney, except for those matters for which special counsel has been retained; to provide research and drafting assistance for proposed resolutions, ordinances, and local laws that the Town Board requests, to assist in real estate transactions that the Town Board requests; to assist in the drafting and review of any contract in which the Town of DeWitt is a party; to be present at Town Board meetings and advise the Board on any issues before the Board, including procedural matters; if so designated by the Board, to assist the Freedom of Information Officer of the Town; to serve as legal advisor to all committees of the Town Board as constituted by the Supervisor and all other boards, commissions, and task forces unless special counsel has been retained; and to provide any other legal services the Town Board reasonably determines to be necessary to be in the best interest of the Town of DeWitt.
The Town Board and the Attorney to the Town, at their discretion, may obtain special counsel in any of these matters or any other legal matter in which the Town has an interest.
The Attorney to the Town shall not be an employee or officer of the Town, except that the Town may hire an Attorney to the Town as a full-time employee who shall limit his or her efforts to Town business and shall be an officer of the Town. The Attorney to the Town shall be compensated pursuant to a written agreement between the Attorney and the Town which has been approved by the Town Board. Such agreement may include provisions for payment of an hourly rate and the reimbursement of expenses incurred on behalf of the Town.
Any payment to the Attorney to the Town or special counsel shall be at a rate which is approved by the Town Board.