A report analyzing

Peachtree City's legal needs and the costs for legal services recommends

now is not the time to hire an in-house city attorney.

The report,

compiled by local attorney Murray Weed at no cost to the city, will be

presented to the City Council at its meeting Thursday night.

In the report,

Weed indicates hiring an in-house attorney would not save costs in the

short term compared to the city's current arrangement with the law firm

of Webb, Lindsey, Collins, Jones and Wade serving as the appointed city

attorney.

Although an

in-house attorney could be available more quickly than an appointed attorney,

that must be weighed against the experience of the 10 attorneys the city

can use through its current arrangement with Webb, Lindsey, Collins, Jones

and Wade, Weed indicated.

Weed, a Peachtree

City resident, recently announced his candidacy for a seat on the City

Council. He volunteered to provide the information to council, after Councilman

Dan Tennant inquired whether it would be more cost efficient to hire an

in-house city attorney given the city's rising legal bills.

Rough estimates

indicate the city's fees for legal services and solicitor services will

reach $322,250 this year; an estimated cost for the first year operating

with an in-house attorney would be $381,950, the report indicates.

The in-house

costs include a paraprofessional to assist the attorney as needed; also

factored in is the workload the attorney will have to hire out due to

a conflict of interest and $75,000 to establish a law library.

In the report,

Weed said if Peachtree City's population rises to 50,000 or the legal

workload and hourly rate continues to increase, hiring in-house counsel

should be reconsidered.

Weed also proposed

a third option: hiring a staff attorney who could serve in a scaled-back

role while the city still appoints a city attorney. That attorney could

support the prosecutor functions needed by the city and provide daily

consultations with department heads and the city manager without an hourly

rate charge, the report stated.

The report

listed cities in Georgia which use their own in-house attorneys. The only

city close to Peachtree City's size which does so is Warner Robins, which

has almost 50,000 residents.