ORDER-2020-59 : A transfer in the amount of $25,000 from Temporary Projected Debt Interest (017522-549100) to City Solicitor, Professional Services (011512-529000).

Transcript (~7 min @ 1:33)

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▶ 1:17 Leila Migliorelli: public comment is now closed the first and only order on our agenda tonight is order 2020-59 A transfer in the amount of $25,000 from temporary projected debt interest, account number 017522-549100 to City Solicitor Professional Services, account number 011512-529000. Seeing that we have City Solicitor Rob Van Kampen here with us tonight, I'd like to entertain a motion to suspend the rules. So moved. Second. So motion to suspend the rules by Councillor Lipper-Garabedian, seconded by Councillor McNaught. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? We are now under suspension of the rules.

▶ 2:04 Speaker 2: Good evening Madam Chair, members of the committee. The order before you tonight is pretty self-explanatory. I did submit a letter to Mayor Broder explaining the need for additional funds in my professional services line item in the current fiscal year we have unfortunately seen a larger than anticipated need for outside consultants and experts and as a result of that the professional services line item which is typically budgeted at around ten thousand dollars has been exhausted so this additional request for funds should assist me in paying outstanding bills and the hope is to carry me through the remainder of the fiscal year so i'm here to any answer any questions that members may have counselor gary do you foresee um

▶ 2:56 Mark Garipay: do you foresee any um additional going over the 25 000 that we have now i don't anticipate that

▶ 3:05 Speaker 2: this evening but unfortunately in my office i can never anticipate what um what we could need in terms of legal consultants experts outside counsel and just to give members of the committee a bit of background on what this line item is used for it's used for things such as outside lawyers experts other professional consultants that that i may be required to call on for example we several years ago did a an arbitration at the joint labor management committee i had to retain an economics expert so this line item was used to pay for those services so it's that those are the types of expenses that come out of this line item i simply i can represent to you tonight that my hope is that this is enough to get through the fiscal year but i i can't with certainty say that

▶ 3:58 Speaker 1: thank you counselor mcmaster thank you madam chair good evening thank you

▶ 4:00 Shawn M. MacMaster: um do um would the money actually also go to support any any fees uh that the council for the school department we need to retain for uh consulting or experts or whatnot or is it strictly for city solicitor solicitor related work relative to the work that you do on behalf of the city

▶ 4:22 Speaker 2: separate and apart from the school sure at this point the request for funds is to cover expenses that have been incurred on what i will say is the city side of the ledger there are no outstanding school expenses that would be covered by this request and there are no outside school expenses i believe that we would we don't have funds to already pay anyway could it potentially if need be

▶ 4:40 Shawn M. MacMaster: anything that was left over be used to pay for any type of legal related uh fees uh that the school department might incur yes thank you mr van campen councillor lipper garabini hi thank

▶ 4:53 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: you madam chair thanks for being here tonight um you one of the things that is mentioned in your really helpful memo is that there were essentially four big matters perhaps that account for why we we need to provide a little bit more resource and support, and one of them is a claim filed in federal court. Yes. Can you just, is that a matter of public record that you can just say what that was about?

▶ 5:16 Speaker 2: So that was a claim filed in federal court involving, it's now been dismissed, so I could speak about it. It was a relatively low-grade dispute involving the towing of a vehicle, and the plaintiff felt that the city's removal of the vehicle was somehow a violation of his civil rights okay and so that case was processed through our insurance company so we brought an insurance defense council to handle that particular particular case and the amount you see is the city share of the deductible under our insurance policy that is actually the total fee for that case that's great so and then

▶ 6:02 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: then just similarly the second large cost is of the 40 B development that was proposed from which I understand it's been modified now it's a very different project that is being contemplated can do you can you speak about how much in total we needed an outside counsel support for that during this fiscal year

▶ 6:25 Speaker 2: for that sure so the which is the second point in my memo to the mayor the retention of KP loss so we had hired John Witten who is a 40 B legal expert to assist my office in handling the defense of that project he is still under retainer I am not sure counselor what the total expense to him is to date but I can certainly provide that to the City Council if you'd like me to it

▶ 6:51 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: might be helpful just for not so much necessarily just this incident but you know moving forward so people have a sense of you know what a type of project like that can end up cost sure sure great sure and I think the good

▶ 7:01 Speaker 2: news on that is at present the expenses for that law firm aren't as large as the expenses for some other issues that I've been working on but just so members know on the Swains Pond Ave situation we were setting aside roughly $200,000 to handle the defense of that so those as you say those cases can get pretty expensive one of the drivers in my request tonight is actually in connection with a receivership at Crystal Street 28 Crystal Street and the expense associated with that receivership was higher than normal because of the complexities involved in that particular property so the expense for petitioning the Superior Court going through the receivership and handling that are included in this as well and i think those totaled in the neighborhood of 13 or 15 thousand dollars okay thank you very

▶ 8:04 Speaker 2: much counselor stewart yes actually uh do you anticipate uh any of these um extraordinary funds to carry over into 21 fiscal 21. uh at this point i don't know i am beginning discussions with the city auditor about potentially increasing my professional services line item which hasn't been increased in probably uh a good six to ten years madam chair motion to recommend passage

▶ 8:39 Leila Migliorelli: second um counselor mcmaster's a motion to recommend passage seconded by councillor liber gary beaton all in favor any opposed thank you thank you thank you order passes and will be heard at the full council meeting meeting later this evening motion to adjourn second motion to

▶ 8:57 Leila Migliorelli: adjourn by councillor mcmaster second and by councillor stewart all in favor aye aye any opposed