Official questions hiring of law firm

The traffic and safety committee will meet Tuesday to discuss the authorization issue.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- City council's traffic and safety committee this week will look into who authorized spending 90,095 in an unsuccessful attempt to dump the city fire department.
Councilman and mayoral candidate Justin Palmer said he's pressing the issue because he wants "to get down to the bottom of what went on."
Palmer said he is looking into the payments because he is a supporter of Ohio's open meeting laws.
But James Armeni, the city auditor, said it was council that voted June 1, 2004, to hire the Akron office of the law firm Roetzel & amp; Andress to handle the fire district issue.
While in contract talks with the fire department in 2004, council began to pay Roetzel & amp; Andress to create the district.
The plan was to eliminate the city and Perry Township fire departments and create the Quaker Community Fire District that would serve both communities. The State Employment Relations Board ruled in 2006 that the city couldn't eliminate the fire department in midcontract.
Palmer, Atty. Earl A. Schory II and Clyde Brown were elected in a voter backlash against the fire district.
The city began incurring bills with Roetzel & amp; Andress regarding the fire district some three months before the first public mention of the district, according to Palmer.
The councilman said he has been unable so far to find any authorization to hire the firm.
By contrast, the remaining members of council who supported the fire district voted in 2006 to appeal a ruling by a SERB administrative judge in favor of the fire department. SERB ruled against the city a short time later.
Meeting set
One of the remaining council members, Mary Lou Popa, is also on the traffic and safety committee that will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the authorization issue.
Popa said Friday she did not recall voting to hire the law firm, but she pointed out that council members vote on many things.
The billings began for activities starting March 12, 2004.
The ordinance to retain the law firm says it was needed to "provide certain legal services in connection with contract matters of the city and other related matters." The ordinance does not mention the fire department.
Armeni was and still is the "point man" between the city and the law firm.
Armeni said the law firm has handled a variety of issues for the city for 17 years.
Roetzel & amp; Andress is what is known as "outside counsel" that handles specialized areas of the law or situations where there is a conflict of interest. Among the issues the company was handling at the time was a discrimination suit with a city employee. That case was eventually settled.
Armeni said that city officials often ask him about a variety of issues. He added that in most cases, after conferring with city Law Director C. Brooke Zellers, he calls the law firm to get information, and then passes it back to the official.
Armeni said only a few officials talked with the law firm at different times before it was hired to create the fire district. That did not violate Ohio's open meeting laws, he added.
"There was no meeting with council as a group," Armeni said.
The city had already appropriated funds for the law firm, which later submitted its bills.
wilkinson@vindy.com