BRADENTON BEACH – Holmes Beach City Attorney Erica Augello will serve as the Bradenton Beach city attorney on an interim basis for up to six months or until a permanent replacement for retired City Attorney Ricinda Perry is selected.
Following an interview process by commissioners at an Oct. 7 emergency special work meeting, Mayor John Chappie made the recommendation to contract with the Clearwater-based Trask Daignault LLP law firm with Augello as primary city attorney.
“In going through the proposal material, you have the whole gamut of areas of law that we need help on,” Mayor John Chappie said. “I think it will be very beneficial not to have just one attorney but to have a team.”
“The way that our firm works, the city attorney is a charter position, so you would have a named city attorney. In this case the proposal names me as the city attorney,” Augello said. “I’ll be the first point of contact. I will be the person that shows up at all your meetings.”
Commissioners questioned Augello and attorney Robert Eschenfelder about topics that included potential conflicts between Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) experience, fees and the role of city attorney.
“In my capacity as city attorney for Holmes Beach, I have worked with the former city attorney, Ricinda (Perry), as well as some of the staff when there are issues that come up to craft interlocal agreements through the hurricanes,” Augello said. “While I do serve as city attorney of Holmes Beach, I’m very much aware that every city is unique.”
Eschenfelder said the law firm serves 14 municipalities, including four beach cities in Pinellas County, and he serves as village attorney for village of Estero and town attorney for the towns of Redington Beach and Redington Shores. He was with the Manatee County Attorney’s office for 16 years.
Commissioner Scott Bear asked how any potential disputes between Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach would be handled.
“If there comes to pass a time when Bradenton Beach needs to sue one of its neighbors for some reason, there obviously will be a conflict so conflict counsel would need to be picked for that one thing,” Eschenfelder said. “We were the city attorney to Tarpon Springs, they have a CRA. We handle conflict for the city of Bradenton CRA board, so we do have in-house experience.”
Augello said that happens very infrequently.
Bear asked about the attorneys’ familiarity with grant applications.
“If I do get involved with the grant applications, it’s very rare,” Augello said. “Our position is we’re not drafting the grant applications for you, but we can certainly help as much as is necessary until you get to the point where you’re able to do that on your own.”
Commissioner Ralph Cole stated that Bradenton Beach uses department heads to lead projects, which has included Perry.
“Our positions are to advise; we will never be the final decision makers on things. If it’s from a legal point of view, 100%, but if it’s a purely staff issue, I have no problem saying this is not my position, let me point you in the direction of where you may get assistance on that,” Augello said. “Our role as attorneys and charter officials is fairly narrow. If I’m doing more than giving you legal advice, in my opinion, I’m not doing my job properly and I’m doing you a disservice.”
Cole asked about the firm’s fees.
“We have specialized skills that other municipal firms don’t have. We find that our $285 rate is cost effective for the quality of what you’re getting,” Augello said.
“One of the things you had with your previous attorney, very likely she had to do a lot more work to come up with whatever work product she came up with, whereas we share our work product,” Eschenfelder said.
“I do want to say as diplomatically as I can, when you look at the spend that this city has had for a city attorney over the prior years as I understand it, your city attorney became the city manager in many ways, and billed you attorney time for that,” Eschenfelder said. “We are not going to be your city manager. I think it’s a dangerous role for your lawyer to be so involved. Because if a lawsuit happens, that lawyer is going to be potentially named as a defendant, and won’t be able to represent you, so we intend, if you retain us, to draw a real distinction.”
“I bet you next year at this time you will have spent less on lawyer fees because we confine ourselves to what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) for a permanent city attorney will be issued toward the end of the six-month interim period. Augello said her firm will submit a proposal for the permanent city position.
“I think we heard a lot of great things that we needed to hear today, particularly not getting out of your lanes and that’s key because it’s so easy to slip and that’s what’s happened over the decades,” Chappie said.
Augello said one of the first things she would do is schedule meetings with staff and commissioners to learn what issues are facing the city.
“I am all for a firm, I have been asking for this for quite some time, especially over the last couple of years,” Police Chief John Cosby said.
City Clerk Terri Sanclemente said, “We need more input with different specialties and different attorneys. I think it would be beneficial for our city.”
The city charter states that the mayor nominates the city attorney.
“The mayor can make that nomination informally, if it is the consensus of the commission to move forward with that,” said Robert Lincoln, who is temporarily serving as city attorney. “I can prepare a resolution for the meeting on the 16th that will recite the mayor has made the nomination and the resolution is to implement it by the commission’s approval of appointment of the firm as the interim attorneys until such time as the city commission makes an appointment for a permanent city attorney.”
Commissioners reached a consensus for approval.
