[Amended 12-16-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
The first Mayor elected under this Act shall, on or before the first day of May 1902, appoint a competent person, licensed to practice in all the courts of the state, to be City Attorney, who shall hold office until January 1, 1904. Thereafter and on or ten (10) days prior to the first day of January of each even-numbered year, the incoming Mayor may appoint his successor, who shall hold office for two (2) years. The City Attorney, if there be one, shall receive the salary and compensation provided for in §
C12 of this Act.
[Amended 10-30-1991 by L.L. No. 3-1991; 12-16-2008 by L.L. No.
9-2008]
a. The City Attorney, if there be one, shall be the sole official advisor
of the Common Council and all the boards and other officers of the
City, including the Assessors. He shall, when directed by the Common
Council, prosecute and defend all actions and proceedings by and against
the City and every department thereof and perform such other professional
services relating to said City as the Mayor or Common Council may
direct. He shall, when required, prepare all legal papers, contracts,
deeds and other instruments for the City and the different departments
thereof. The City Attorney, if there be one, shall, at the expiration
of his term of office, hand-deliver to his successor in office, as
soon as qualified, the record or register of all actions or proceedings
in which the Mayor, City or any of its departments may be a party
and also all papers on the part of the City therein and also sign
stipulations substituting said successor as attorney for the City
in such actions or proceedings, to the end that an order of substitution
may be entered in such actions or proceedings. All costs in litigated
cases, wherein the City is successful, shall belong to the city, and
when collected shall be paid to the Clerk/Chamberlain and credited
to and form a part of the General Fund of the city.
[Amended 12-1-2009 by L.L. No. 6-2009]
b. He shall be and act as the legal advisor of the Common Council and
of the several officers, boards and departments of the city, and he
shall appear for and protect the rights and interests of the City
in all actions, suits and proceedings brought by or against any City
officer, board or department; and such officers, boards or departments
shall not employ other counsel. No written contract providing for
the payment of $1,000 or more shall be entered into by the City or
any of its officers, boards or departments, until there shall be endorsed
thereon by the City Attorney, if there be one, a certificate to the
effect that, in his opinion, the City officer, board or department
which is to execute the same on behalf of the City has the authority
and power to make such contract and that said contract is in proper
form; and he shall attend to all the law business of the City and
discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by the Common Council.
c. If the Mayor does not appoint a City Attorney, then all of the legal
duties and services to be rendered as described in this section and
in all of this Charter and the City Code may be fulfilled by the Mayor
engaging an attorney or attorneys on a case-by-case as-needed basis.
[Amended 12-1-2009 by L.L. No. 6-2009]
He shall pay over at once to the Clerk/Chamberlain all moneys
collected by him for or on behalf of the City, including fines and
penalties, and he shall, annually, on or before the first day of January,
file with the Clerk/Chamberlain an inventory of all the books and
property belonging to the City which are in his custody.
He shall, whenever he considers that the best interests of the
City will be served thereby, enter into an agreement, in writing,
subject to the approval of the Common Council, to compromise and settle
any claim against the City, which agreement shall be reported to the
Common Council at its next meeting and be and constitute a valid obligation
against the city, and the amount therein provided to be paid shall,
with interest thereon at 6% from its date, be included in the next
City tax budget and, when raised by tax, to be paid the claimant.
[Amended 12-16-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
The City Attorney, if there be one, with the written consent
of the Mayor or when authorized by the Common Council, may employ
counsel to assist him in the argument and conduct of important cases
or proceedings in which the City is interested or a party.
[Amended by L. 1943, c. 710; L. 1945, c. 839; 10-30-1991 by L.L. No.
3-1991; 12-16-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
The amount of any judgment recovered against the City and payable
by it remaining unpaid, with the interest due thereon, in case no
appeal is intended to be taken or in case such judgment is finally
affirmed on appeal, shall be reported by the City Attorney, if there
be one, immediately after the same shall have become payable, to the
Common Council, and the same may be provided, in whole or in part,
pursuant to the Local Finance Law or may be included in the next levy
of taxes for the expenses of the city, unless-execution upon such
judgment shall be stayed. If included in the tax levy, such judgment
shall be paid out of the first moneys paid into the City Treasury
on account of such levy, in the order of their recovery. Until the
money so raised shall be paid into the Treasury and payment of the
judgment refused, no execution shall issue against the city, unless
the amount of such judgment shall not have been included in the tax
levy.