County to renew contract with local attorney [Ruidoso News, N.M.]
By Dianne Stallings, Ruidoso News, N.M. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
While no commissioners expressed any dissatisfaction with his performance, Commissioner
She would like the RFP sent to the New Mexico State Bar and to the
This year, as well as four years ago, Morel was the only attorney to respond.
"It's a lot of money," Minter said, mentioning a proposed flat fee of
Commissioner
"They've seen us," she said.
Morel presented two proposals, one for hourly billing covering his and his staff's time, and a second for a flat fee. Minter noted that looking at his past history, one year he didn't take an increase, but this year, one is proposed.
Morel said he will be dealing with a new manager and anticipates more hours compared to working with
"So once Ms. (
for negotiations.
In presenting the item, Taylor said only Morel submitted a proposal by the
Under the first option, he proposed
The second option proposed a flat fee to be negotiated. His current flat fee is
Morel handed out an accounting of the last four years' cost for legal services. He said 2008 "was a brutal year" with the county coming out
In 2009, the county benefited by
"Clearly, a flat fee benefits the county," Morel said. "People have access who otherwise would be restricted. (Lack of access) causes more problems, because we end up having to fix things rather than handling them ahead. This way, the county and I also know what the monthly bill is. "There are no surprises. Stewart would have passed out, if I had turned in (an invoice)
Morel said he couldn't find an attorney in the state who charges less than
Taylor said she analyzed Morel's proposal and looked at the numbers over the last four years. The county benefited more than his fee for any one year. She recommended a flat fee.
"I would hate to worry about the dollar every time I pick up the phone to call him," she said.
Commissioner
"I made the same comment last year," he said.
Although Minter voted for the motion with the other three commissioners at the session with
The attorney said one assistant primarily was dedicated to county business, but he always employed two.
"You do private (work) too," Minter said, asking for an estimate of what percentage of his work is dedicated to the county.
Morel said he recently had to figure that for his malpractice insurance. "It's always been 55 percent to 60 percent for
He added, "I like my job and I'm not trying to work my way out of a job by charging too much."
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