Reappointment of Peachtree

City's attorneys, judge and solicitor has been delayed

until the first week of March due to scheduling conflicts

with one of the council members.

Requests for proposals from

interested parties were readvertised in December after

some confusion about the various positions. The matter

was to be decided by the council during February.

But Councilman Robert

Brooks, who said last week that he has missed only four

meetings in ten years, informed city manager Jim Basinger

that he would be unable to attend either of the council's

regularly scheduled meetings in February. The issue was

then placed on last week's council agenda.

City staff recommended that

Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey remain as city attorney, with

Mitch Powell continuing to be the city's municipal judge.

This is a change from the

city's previous recommendations after the original bids.

Glover and Davis, the

Newnan firm of which Judge Powell is a member, was the

low bidder for the city attorney post the first time

around, and city staff recommended them based mainly on

price, saying that Webb, Stuckey & Lindsey has

provided excellent service for the past several years.

But when the council

discussed the bids in December, it was revealed that some

confusion existed as to the city attorney and solicitor

positions. Webb, Stuckey & Lindsey are currently

filling both roles.

But some bidders opted

solely for the solicitor job, which prompted the city to

solicit bids a second time and more clearly state the

requirements.

The council elected to

combine the positions of solicitor and city attorney,

under which conditions Glover and Davis did not submit a

bid.

Powell bid again for the

municipal judgeship, which effectively knocked his firm

out of the running for the other job, since the same firm

could not represent the city as solicitor and serve on

the municipal bench.

As for Webb, Stuckey &

Lindsey, their bid was the same both times: a $750

monthly retainer, $130 per hour for attorneys and $70 per

hour for paralegals and clerks.

That was not the lowest bid

among the five applicants, but it was the only bid

received from a Peachtree City firm. There were two

bidders from Atlanta and one apiece from Fayetteville and

Jonesboro.

Mayor Pro Tempore Annie

McMenamin has made clear the fact that she would abstain

from any vote to retain Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey, since

her daughter is a lawyer with that firm. Brooks then

raised the question of whether there would be a problem

having a quorum in his absence.

Since not all council

members were ready to vote on the matter, it was decided

that it would be considered again in March.